Disrepair
by Romancehowler
Summary: I thought tales of fiction were just that; intricate stories woven by others. Next thing I know, my car flips over and I'm dead. Only I'm not. I'm reborn into the world of Naruto, in a time I know all too much about, with characters whose lives will be shattered. But I won't let that happen. I'm fixing this broken story, and nothing's gonna stop me. SIOCxObito, a little KakaRin.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, everyone. I thought it was time I wrote this. Part of the reason I wanted to create this story is because there aren't many stories about Obito that have a concept like this. The ones I have found were either unfinished, really short or just plain bad. So I want to take it upon myself to write a nice long story for other Obito fans out there who would like to see something like this. I also wanted to try a SI fic and see if it would work. The cover is just a placeholder at the moment, I may or may not change it.**

 **But anyway... I'll write this story to the best of my ability, I'm aware there are a lot of authors on this site who'd probably do a better job than me. I just want to get this out there... in the words of Batman (I think) this will be "The story Fanfiction needs... but not the one it deserves." Or something like that.**

I'd never been a religious person. I didn't really see why everything had to be the result of some big, all-powerful entity. Sometimes I wondered about existence, sometimes I wondered about what death was like. But really, I stuck close to science and provable facts. Occasionally exclaiming "Jesus Christ!" "Damn!" "God" etc was the extent of my religious vocabulary.

Even so, a part of me at least wished for some sort of afterlife concept. Just fizzling out into nothing upon death was a depressing thought. I'd read stories with different takes on death: you weren't really dead if you died, when people die they become part of the Earth, and many more imaginative theories. One of the most popular concepts, especially in fanfiction, was reincarnation.

People wrote stories about waking up as someone else, as an animal or in another world after dying. Sometimes they retained all their former knowledge and sometimes they didn't. There were stories within stories-someone died and woke up in a work of fiction; The Lion King, Pokemon, Halo, Doctor Who, you name it. The idea behind these was for the reincarnated people to interact with the world and it's characters in some way.

I admit, I could see how the idea of it had come to be. Books, movies, television, video games-they were all a form of escape. A way to immerse yourself in a world of memorable and endearing characters, diverse landscapes and incredible tales. It was no wonder people wished to actually go to places of such imagination. Even I did, on a small level. For the most part I was content to live my life-some fictional world would probably be too much for me anyway.

Funny how death puts things like that into perspective.

* * *

My body was wracked with shivers as I uncomfortably climbed into the grey car. Heavy rain had come out of seemingly nowhere and soaked me to the bone, sapping the last of my already paper-thin motivation to go to work. The wintry weather was blustery and sporadic, wreaking havoc on many people's timetables. But regardless, I got in, all but slammed the door and turned the key. I didn't like to drive; I was still new to it and it made me a little uneasy. I didn't have a full license, being 17, but was hoping to get one someday soon so I could at least get a confidence boost.

Yep, just another day in good ol' NZ. While getting ready for work my instinct was to grab my umbrella in case it rained, but remembering the pleasant weather forecast I instead prepared for sun. How wrong I was.

 _'I'd rather be late than soaked... "Sunshine all day" my ass.'_

It was too late to trek back to the house and grab an umbrella, so I settled for muttering obscenities as I made my way onto the road.

My mood became as damp as my clothes when my thoughts shifted to work. Being a supermarket cashier wasn't the greatest job in the world. Screaming babies, impatient customers, technical glitches. I'd pursued the job because I needed cash and it was readily available. Deep down I'd hoped it would be fun, but the reality I was greeted with was as mundane as a slice of bread.

Luckily the job was as simple as it was boring; all I really had to do was scan produce and type away at a computer to verify payments. Some days when I came into work, I wondered whether being a cashier would be possible in the future. The automatic checkout machines indicated that was unlikely.

* * *

I drove along the familiar country road, trying to see past the combination of windshield wipers, torrential rain and howling wind. The conditions were hellish for just about anybody driving that day-and everybody walking. Despite being shielded from this bad weather by the car, I didn't feel any less cold and wet. Water was beginning to soak into my seat.

 _'What a shitty day... should've just stayed home and pretended to be sick.'_

Normally I liked the rain, but this was just excessive.

As I drove towards the familiar intersection, I saw a pair of girls on the side of the road, about my age. They looked around, and when I got closer they ran across the road.

"Shit!" I cursed in alarm and hastily swerved to avoid them, but failed to see the vehicle turning towards me in the confusion

 _ **CRUNCH**_

The pair of cars collided heavily, sending my car tumbling over sideways from the impact. All I could see was the world spinning and dimming before me; all I could hear was the horrendous squeal of twisting metal and the crash of a fence breaking.

When everything around me was no longer a rush of sound and motion I tried to see what was going on. The car was flipped over, on the fringe of an empty field. I was jammed in my seat, arms hanging uselessly with the rest of me. Something warm and sticky was gushing out of my head and dripping onto the roof of the car.

"Damn... maybe I could just... put it back in..." I mumbled, delirious with blood loss

 _'What a way to die...'_

My last glimpses of the world were upside-down and blurry.

* * *

For a moment, I felt nothing. When that moment ended, I felt myself being yanked sideways like a ragdoll. I was being pulled so fast I was barely aware of it-then I felt the sudden jarring sensation of slamming into something.

All I saw was muffling darkness. After a few seconds, a soft light appeared that became brighter.

 _'If the whole "Light" thing is real... does that mean afterlife exists and I'm going to heaven? Well, either that or I survived somehow and I'm waking up.'_

I could still think; somehow I was still "Conscious". As improbable as it was, I must have survived.

I opened my eyes. Everything was blurred, and I could hear muffled sound in the background. One thing I noticed was white-lots of it, moving to and fro at a frantic pace.

 _'Am I in the hospital?'_

My vision cleared somewhat and sure enough I could make out medical equipment-machinery, drips, beds, figures I assumed to be people running around in white clothes. However, there was something weird about it all-everything was _huge._ I was lying on a soft bed, but it seemed to envelop me. It was moving too-was I doing that? I wondered if I was drugged up on meds.

Suddenly, impossibly, I was picked up.

 _'What...? You don't just pick a near-adult up that easily..'_

My hearing caught up with my vision and I listened curiously to voices above and around me.

"She seems to be healthy, madame. No abnormalities."

"Then why is she so quiet?!"

Something was off about this-everything looked so... _different._ It reminded me of some sort of art style and was familiar to me, but my thoughts were muddled and I couldn't remember why. I peered over the arm I was held in and saw a brown-haired woman below me. She appeared exhausted, her weary blue-grey eyes fixed on me. They held a strange emotion. Coupled with a tired smile it looked almost like elation.

I began making connections, realization dawning on me.

 _'Was I just born? Again?'_

I looked at the nurse bending over the woman- _my_ _mother_ -and I saw something that shocked me even more. Light glinted off a steel plate attached to a headband-a forehead protector. What really caught my attention was the symbol on it-a spiral capped with a small triangle. These forehead protectors- _hitai-ate_ -were from a place I knew well. Glancing around, I noticed the other staff wearing them as well. Everything clicked as I also remembered where I'd seen this art style before.

 _'But.. that's...'_

I hadn't just been born again, but born into another world entirely-the world of Naruto. I reacted to this realization in the only way my chubby baby body could-I screamed and cried like crazy.

* * *

My new mother let out a sigh of relief at my noise, and I was placed in her arms. She hummed to me softly, and perhaps as a side-effect of my infantile body, I felt soothed. The thought that I was in a completely different universe weighed heavily on me, but something else was on my mind.

 _'So I know **where** I am but... **when** am I?'_

I knew the storyline of Naruto relatively well-and for all I knew the Nine Tails was about to attack, or maybe Pain or Orochimaru. In any of those circumstances I'd likely be dead quickly. There was at least one thing I was sure of; based on my surroundings and the existence of Konoha, I was in a time after it's founding.

 _'I need to know who the current Hokage is-then I'll at least have a rough idea of the timeline. Or I look out for key characters. In that case, if I see someone from Naruto's time hobble past as an old person I'm totally screwed.'_

"Have you decided a name for the child, madame?" one of the doctors asked boredly, holding a pen and clipboard

"Yes, I have. She will be called... Yoku Uzumaki."

 _'Yoku... that doesn't sound too bad. Uzumaki? Does that mean I'm related to any of the Uzumakis I know of?'_ the prospect was interesting, but for all I knew this was well after the lifetimes of anyone I recognized. I was satisfied with my new name, at least.

My mind raced as I recalled the abilities of the Uzumaki.

 _'Let's see... they have large chakra reserves, tend to live long lifespans... and wasn't there that thing where they can transfer chakra via biting? Yuck.'_

I decided to get a better look at my new mother-after all, I'd like to get an idea of what I might end up looking like.

My vision was still a little blurred, what with me being only about ten minutes old-physically-but what I could make out was a soft face smiling down at me warmly. She had straight dark brown hair that fell to the nape of her neck, a slightly oval-shaped face and large round blue-grey eyes. Her skin was slightly tanned, with a tint of pink. Her gentle features classed her as pretty, though not extremely beautiful. For some reason, she struck me as familiar.

The loving look she had indicated that she cared a great deal for me. Already I was warming up to her; perhaps this new life wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

My mother and I were left alone for a while so that she could recover from childbirth. This gave me time to think, and think I did. There wasn't much else to do since my tiny body couldn't move that well.

The first thought that popped into my head was _'Where's my father?'_

There were several possibilities:

A. He's dead

B. He's a good-for-nothing bum that wants no part in my life

C. He's a shinobi and is off on a mission

D. He's busy with something else

I hoped it was C or D. If he was a good dad, at least.

I decided not to dwell on it-too many 'what-ifs' and I'd become like Omoi. I'd probably find out what the deal was soon anyway.

Next I thought about what to do with my knowledge of this universe.

 _'Hmm... if I'm in an era I recognize I might change some things for the better. If it's the start of Naruto's era, I'll probably try to find Sasuke and explain to him about Itachi so he doesn't become a psychopath, try to improve Sakura's confidence, and be friends with Naruto so he isn't sad and lonely... and then eventually I'll go kill Danzo because he's an evil kid-manipulating mass-murdering bastard.'_

Out of all the characters in the Narutoverse, Danzo was the one I disliked the most. Simply because he wasn't that interesting and seemed to hold no redeeming qualities, at least to me. Not to mention he inadvertently caused several terrible events. I was glad when Sasuke finally killed him. It occurred to me that messing with the storyline could have consequences, but frankly I didn't care. I'd be damned if I was reborn into this world just to let the story play out the way it did.

 _'If it's before Naruto's time... I'm going to find a way to stop Obito from becoming what he did.'_

On the flipside of the coin, Obito was my favorite character. If there was one thing I could change, I'd stop his life from being so depressing. Which would mean preventing him from being crushed, or keeping Rin alive. But then, that depended on a whole lot of things. Mainly whether I'd be able to interact with him at all, or if I could become strong enough to do it.

Despite efforts to fight it, sleep eventually enveloped me. Babies get tired really easily I guess.

* * *

When I woke up, I was being carried through the village. The sun was shining above me and onto people as they went about their lives. It was fascinating, seeing all those people in such a big, generally friendly community.

My vision moved to the mountains, and that's when I remembered-the Hokage Monument.

I focused my baby-vision as much as I could and managed to get a good look. The faces were expertly etched in the natural rock, each one with a determined look fixed upon it's eternal visage. Truly, they were a sight to behold. There were three, each one recognizable to me. Hashirama, the founder, user of wood style. His brother Tobirama the second, the stoic master of water style. Lastly was Hiruzen Sarutobi, proficient in many jutsu and wise beyond his years.

That meant that right now was anywhere between Hiruzen having recently becoming Hokage, to Minato about to do so.

 _'Well, I guess there's no helping Naruto and co. for the time being since they don't yet exist. Then again, it'll be a few years before I can do anything anyway. Ugh.'_

* * *

 **So... there's chapter 1. Please leave a review, follow, fav, whatever! I gotta know if people are gonna crucify me for this or not. Yoku means "Well" in japanese-I picked it because she's meant to be seen as a healthy being. Or maybe just because I liked how it sounded. Also, I did hint at who Yoku's mother is related to, though just who and how is up to you guys to guess.. for now. I will release chapters as briskly as I can, but I will have to stop and research certain details so I don't screw up jutsu names or continuity like I did in TAP 2 (which I will update soon, I promise. Chapter 7 is almost finished). Yes, this is a SI fic, though not hugely. I'm testing the waters of this area, so don't be surprised if I make a few mistakes. Also, I'd appreciate it if someone could tell me what the flower Obito's holding on the cover is, I can't recall it's name.**

 **Next chapter there's some time skipping, because babies are boring and can't do much.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, welcome to chapter 2! Thanks Guest and UnicornTalesLol for leaving reviews, they really help to keep me going! Thanks to everyone who left a fav and follow as well, knowing people are interested in this makes me really happy. I will try to do a drawing of Yoku so that you guys get an idea of what she looks like and wears, and I've also fixed up the summary since I wrote it when I was really tired. To clear up something that may confuse you guys: the writing on everything in the Narutoverse is still japanese, but Yoku can read it. People also talk in english. This is because I know very little about the japanese language, except a few honorifics. I don't want to horribly mess up. Before I go onto the chapter summary I have one more statement to make: Please,** ** _please_** **tell me if I majorly screw up anything about the Narutoverse, because I feel so dumb when I make a mistake and only notice it a month later. Also as a note, any flashbacks will be in all italics and written in 3rd person.**

 **This chapter's full of fluff and sweetness, because I think Yoku could use some to start her journey. In this chapter there's time-skipping, because really what's a writer supposed to do with helpless babies and toddlers anyway? In the next chapter Yoku will age a bit and eventually be entered into the Academy. The fate of Yoku's father and the person Yoku's mother is related to are both revealed this chapter too.**

Home was... nice. The house I was brought to was like many others I'd seen in the Naruto anime-small, wooden and unassuming. But it had a cozy feeling to it as well. I'd been breastfed on the way, since I found myself to be ravenous. Having the body of a baby was really wearing me down.

My mother hummed happily as she opened the door, revealing the interior of the house to be as cozy-looking as the exterior. We were in front of a living room, complete with comfy chairs and a couch. In one corner was a bookshelf, which I mentally noted to have a look at when I was able to. To the left of the living room was a small kitchen, looking used but clean. To the right was a corridor, which I assumed led to the bathroom and bedroom.

One thing I found weird was the lack of a TV. Sure, I knew they didn't use televisions commercially in this world, but previously growing up in a place where almost every house had one made me used to seeing them.

My emotions finally caught up to me as I was hit with a sharp pang of sadness. I'd never be able to go back to my world, I never got to say goodbye to my friends or my relatives...

Soon enough I was bawling, waving my little fists about like I could grab onto my memories and never let go.

"Shhh, honey, shhh... this is your home. There's nothing to be scared of, I'll always be here to keep you safe." my mother spoke in a soft whisper, rocking me gently back and forth. She began to hum the tune I'd heard earlier again.

I slowly started to calm down, settling into acceptance.

 _'There's nothing I can do to go back; that world's behind me now. I guess it's best to focus on my new future, rather than clinging to the past. My new life doesn't seem that bad... in fact, after I'm not stuck in a helpless body I may even like it.'_

My small eyelids grew heavy as my mother walked into the small room I presumed to be mine. The walls were covered in a warm orange-pink wallpaper, reminding me of peaches. The crib I was placed in was soft as down, and it's wooden frame was like a fortress from my perspective. I felt... safe... and happy.

My mother kissed me gently on the forehead, then moved to switch off the light.

"Goodnight, sweet Yoku... you'll see daddy in the morning."

* * *

I woke up the next day, the late morning sun shining from the small window to the right of me. It appeared I still slept in late. As I attempted to stretch or move my body in some way, I remembered what my mother had said before I slept.

 _"...you'll see daddy in the morning."_

I felt nervous. At least I knew my dad was alive, but I didn't know what to expect. My mother seemed to be referring to him positively, so all I could really do was hope for the best.

 _'Good parents are a big part of anybody's life... if I end up with a terrible dad, life's gonna suck.'_

I lay there for a while, tense with worry, my mind a buzzing hive of "what-ifs". There went my plan to not be Omoi-esque.

I heard my mother's soft footsteps outside the door-then a noise from outside.

"Karu? Are you home? I'm back!" it was a distinctly male voice, somewhat highly pitched but pleasant sounding... my father's voice perhaps?

"Torei?"

 _'So my mother is called Karu.. and that man is called Torei. This world seems to have a knack for melodious names.'_

I heard the creaking noise of the door opening, and happy exclamations of reunion.

"I'm so glad you're back... are you alright?"

"Yeah. The fighting's not been good so far. We were sent to cut off a supply route and we lost some squad members. Hopefully they didn't die in vain. But... Karu... is.."

 _'Fighting? Squad? He must be a shinobi.'_

"Yes... she's in here, perfectly healthy." to my suprise a new voice spoke up

"Big sister!" it was the joyous voice of a young girl, by the sounds of it

"Aww, come here hothead! Was your day alright? You didn't beat anyone else up I hope?" my mother took on a mischevious but endearing tone

the girl responded grumpily "But _siiis_... those stupid boys deserved it! All they ever do is say mean things!"

As they talked I noticed something.

 _'Hothead? Beating up boys?'_

"Little sis, you're supposed to be nice to the other kids! When you get older and become a shinobi, you can punch enemy ninja as much as you want."

"...the fox made me mad too..." the girl mumbled quietly

 _'Fox...? No way... no **way.** '_

* * *

My mother comforted her sister, the man offering some soothing words as well. Afterwards, he said something that confirmed one of my theories.

"Karu... can... can I see our child?"

 _'So he **is** my father... at least he sounds like a good one.' _Despite this thought, anxiety welled up inside of me as I heard the trio of people walk towards my room.

My mother opened the door and picked me up. When she turned around I got a good look at the mystery man. My father was of average height, with short ruffled sandy blonde hair, a soft, shy-looking face and dark brown eyes. His skin was pale with a slight tan. He wore the standard outfit of a Konoha-nin: a flak jacket over a navy shirt and trousers, coupled with a hitai-ate tied around his head. In addition to this he had a small turquoise scarf around his neck. My father looked slightly battered, indicating he'd been fighting recently. Nonetheless, his eyes held a look of awe.

"She... she's... beautiful. Karu, a-are you sure we're ready for this?" he stammered, showing uncertainty not uncommon among new parents

"I know we are Torei... I'll be here to help you if you need it. Now here, why don't you hold her?" I was passed into the arms of my father, who smelt faintly of smoke and earth.

His callused hands indicated battle experience, yet he held me as gently as he would a feather, almost as if he was afraid I'd break. He gazed at me with a look of love, just like my mother. I knew I'd like him as much as her.

"What's her name?" he whispered

my mother responded, looking down at me fondly "Yoku... well. Because I hope she'll stay healthy and happy. Perhaps she will share such an attitude with others too."

"Our little Yoku... it's perfect." my father whispered, hugging me to his chest slightly. I let out a bubbly giggle, the closest I could get to laughter.

 _'These people are so... kind. I'll accept them as my parents, to really start my life in this new world.'_

"See? She likes you already!" Mother said with a grin, making Father grin too

"Big brother Torei! Can I hold her? I'm her aunty after all!" the girl asked from below, reaching up impatiently. As I was passed to her I got a good look at the girl and her long red-

 _'Oh. Red hair.'_

Smiling above was a face I easily recognized. A young Kushina looked at me with curious blue-grey eyes like Mother's.

"She's so small... was I that small when I was born?" she asked quietly

* * *

 _'Kushina's my aunt. I definitely know when I am now. Timeline stuff aside... this is great! Kushina's an awesome person and ends up having a kid of her own, so she'll probably be a good aunt too.'_

"I think you were bigger sis. You were a pretty chubby baby!" Mother joked, causing Kushina to stick her tongue out at her

"She may be small now Kushina, but she'll grow up to be big and strong like you one day." Father chimed in, ruffling Kushina's long hair

"Well, then I want to help her be strong too! I can show her how to talk and walk and fight and..." Kushina continued to babble

The afternoon passed quickly, full of hope and the prospect of a good future.

* * *

I got up slowly, moving my unwieldy body forwards as fast as a toddler could. I was almost three now, and I was going to make myself walk properly as soon as possible. Having such limited mobility with a mind like mine was killing me. I could form coherent sentences, with difficulty. I had to use smaller terms so people wouldn't get freaked out by a toddler talking like she was six times her age. I could write a little too, but alas. My curse of messy handwriting seemed to have carried over into my new body as well. Being a toddler was a real drag.

My target was in front of me after a few minutes of stumbling forward. I blinked at my clear reflection in the mirror, taking in my short stature and tuft of aburn hair. I was wearing a small pink shirt and faded blue shorts, with a diaper underneath them. It was a rare moment when I was all alone-Father was away often, but Mother was usually here to take care of me. Even if she was gone, Kushina would watch after me. But today she was off on a mission with Minato and a few other chunin.

I recalled the tense couple of days following her kidnapping by Kumo-nin, and with fondness the day she came back talking about a certain blonde-haired blue-eyed boy.

* * *

 _"Kushina!" Karu gasped when she opened the door to find her disheveled little sister on the step_

 _"It's okay big sis, I got rescued!" Kushina exclaimed cheerfully, though she was bedraggled and weariness showed in her eyes_

 _"Don't **ever** scare me like that again!" Karu cried, pulling Kushina to her in a tight hug_

 _The sisters came into the house, where Kushina was restored by some tea. Yoku was in her mother's arms, content and somewhat relieved._

 _"So, hothead... who rescued you?" Karu was no stranger to the fact that many villagers still disliked their family for being foreign. Kushina hadn't really made any friends as a result._

 _"It was.. um... a boy I knew..." Kushina mumbled, a light blush dusting her cheeks_

 _"A boy, huh? I thought they were all scared of you!" Karu attempted to lighten the mood, but Kushina just began to fidget nervously_

 _"Wh-when I was kidnapped, I left strands of my hair behind so that maybe someone could follow them and save me. We ended up close to the border and I thought nobody was gonna save me, but then the boy came..." Kushina blushed even more, and Karu was catching onto it_

 _"Oh... so this boy, did he say **why** he saved you?" _

_"H-he..um... he said that... he liked my red hair..." Kushina stammered and Yoku giggled. To her the whole scene was adorable._

 _"Is that so? Well, little sis, maybe you should be less of a hothead and try to talk to him again. You two could become friends." Karu said, already matchmaking_

 _"U-um... b-b-but I don't know if he'd l-listen..." Kushina was as red as her hair, which she was now knotting with one finger_

 _"I know he will Kushina. Say hi to him tomorrow, you'll be surprised." Karu smiled, and Kushina did too._

* * *

A smile crept onto my small face at the memories. Minato and Kushina were dating now, both head-over-heels for each other. Love like theirs always brought warmth to my heart-it was so pure and true. Much like the love between my parents. They may not have had long periods of time together, but it was easy to see the strong connection between them.

My attention turned back to the big mirror in front of me. I was in the bathroom, having gone there to try and "Potty train" my body. I couldn't stand the humiliation of getting a diaper change, even if it was normal for toddlers and babies. I wanted to regain my dignity as fast as possible. After washing my hands I noticed the mirror and wanted to have a look at it.

My face was pudgy with baby fat, but I got a rough idea of what I would look like. I had the same eyes as Mother and Kushina, big and round and blue-grey. Just like the eyes I used to have, though they were not so big and round. My skin was paler than Mother's, likely due to Father's genes. My hair was already looking ruffled and messy, but it wasn't brown like Mother's or blond like Father's. It was a dark red-brown, reminding me of chestnuts. Perhaps the red came from some other relatives-red hair was a common trait among the Uzumaki. If I was lucky, I'd grow up to be pretty, or at least average.

Suddenly, an idea popped into my head. An idea that sounded incredibly stupid, but I wondered... was it possible?

So, I stood in front of the mirror and attempted to make cartoony anime faces.

 _'...holy shit.'_

I was staring back at a furious looking toddler with big white eyes and sharp teeth, signifying an angry grimace. I dropped the expression and my face returned to normal. I tried again, this time with a look of defeat.

Sure enough, my forehead was shaded blue with black lines going down it and my face was in a sad pout.

 _'This is so trippy.'_

I tried again and again with different faces, each time getting more confused and amused. In the end I was giggling on the floor, wondering how in the hell such things were possible.

* * *

The next day, when I saw Father coming home exhausted and a bit scratched up, a grave thought entered my mind.

 _'I'm going to have to become a shinobi someday if I want to protect anyone or change anything. I'd better enjoy my carefree toddler days while I can, before I have to hit the ground running. Maybe I'll be able to handle it.. at least I'm already mentally prepared. Most people have to grow up very quickly to adapt to the harsh life of a ninja. I'd better investigate my chakra a bit so I can get an idea of how jutsu is performed.'_

I concentrated very hard, feeling the lifeforce within me-my chakra. As I sensed it's pattern it was not unlike the sensation of blood flowing, just more... noticeable. Being an Uzumaki, I had slightly larger chakra reserves than usual. I'd learned that chakra was split into two halves: spiritual and physical energy. At the moment my spiritual energy was greater than my physical energy, mirroring my predicament of a strong mind but small body. I knew I would have to train hard so that my physical energy could become equal to that of my spiritual. The two needed to be molded together for jutsu, after all.

 _'I'll need to learn handsigns too... I hope my hands are more flexible than they were before.'_ In my old world, every time I tried to imitate a handsign from Naruto it didn't feel very comfortable

Despite the gloominess of a tough life hanging over me, there was a thought that made me look forward to entering the Academy.

 _'Judging by the time I'm in, I should be part of Kakashi's generation, which means I'll probably meet some of my favorite characters. Guy, Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai... even Obito!'_

That last name in particular made me happy. When I began watching the Naruto Shippuden anime, Obito to me was at first just someone who I heard was in Kakashi's team when he was young. Then I learned more about him and watched Kakashi Gaiden, and his goofy but determined personality stuck with me and became endearing. He was so kind and sweet, not to mention that his ideals improved Kakashi's outlook on life and determined Naruto's way of thinking. The fact that he wasn't very skilled just made me root for him to triumph even more.

 _'His love for Rin on the other hand... I could take or leave.'_

It wasn't that I disliked Rin, she was just so... plain. Average. Other than being shy and friendly she didn't seem to have anything that made her personality stand out.

 _'Hell, her ninjutsu in the last Naruto Storm video game was... summoning a log. A **log.** No spikes attached to it, no poison or hidden traps. Just a plain old rolling log. In comparison to the menagerie of awesome jutsu the others characters had, it was a little boring. It was like the game developers **knew** how average she was.'_

Maybe Obito fell for her because she was the sweet little shy girl, but the fact that she never even returned his feelings was always a point of frustration for me. If there was one thing I couldn't stand, it was characters I liked suffering. First Obito got crushed by a boulder, then he went on a bloody rampage because he saw Rin die. But afterwards was the worst. Afterwards he was just so... empty. Broken. Even though he redeemed himself in the end, his fate just made me feel really sad.

Long story short, Obito Uchiha became my favorite character in the series, and I appreciated Kakashi's story a lot more too.

 _'But now... now I have a chance to change things. With my knowledge, I could stop Obito from ever being crushed, from having his heart and dreams shattered. I'll do whatever it takes. By saving Obito, I can consequently save Minato and Kushina too, and stop Kakashi from being guilt-ridden.'_

At that point, resolve filled my being. I _**would**_ change this story for the better, I _**would**_ protect the village and the people dear to me.

And I would never give up.

* * *

 **Yoku has been filled with determination! That's all for chapter 2, folks. Lots of love and fluff mostly. The next chapter will see Yoku older and interacting with some characters, plus one more time skip afterwards where she enters the Academy. Her chakra nature will be revealed also. The whole "Anime Faces" bit was something I came up with out of boredom.. whether it will be explained or not I'm not sure. Props to anyone who guessed that Karu was related to Kushina, I figured it would make Yoku's emotional connections more significant. Please do leave a review, fav or follow guys! I need to know if I can improve anything, or if anyone actually likes my writing. Plus getting them really boosts my confidence and inspiration. See you guys in chapter 3!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Heyo, welcome to chapter 3! Thanks to anyone who left a fav and/or follow, and thanks Guest for your review, I appreciate the kind words! In this chapter Yoku has aged and seems to have conquered her awkward body a bit. She's explored the village a bit, though until this chapter has not talked to anyone significant. Yoku has been attempting handsigns too, but she's a bit slow. I have begun my drawing of Yoku as she looks when she's around 13 and I'll probably make a drawing of her parents too. When they're done I'll link them here and on my profile.**

 **Onto the chapter, at the start of which Yoku is five years old and Obito, Kakashi and Rin are six. In this chapter we get an analysis of Yoku's skills, and she ends up having her first taste of ramen as well as friendship.**

Life as a kid had it's charms. For one, I could run around and explore all day. For two, being a kid was a great cover for eavesdropping. I was surprised by how much you could learn about a place just from gossip. I didn't usually get chased off because the adults just assumed me to be another silly immature child. I had proper clothes now, too-I usually wore a dark red shirt under a grey jacket, said jacket having the symbol of the Uzumaki clan on the back. I wore trousers the same dark red as my shirt, which had a few small pouches on it. I typically went around barefoot, but sometimes I wore the typical black shinobi sandals.

I could walk and run well, thank god. I made sure to do both often, partly for exercise and partly because there was little else to do besides reading. I'd contemplated striking up a conversation with some of the other kids running around Konoha, but I was a little too... nervous about it. I wasn't sure how to approach one of the characters I knew with knowledge of pretty much their whole lives in my head. The closest I'd gotten to it at that point was when I spotted the very person that was at the center of my overall goal-Obito Uchiha. Along with Rin and Kakashi, oddly enough.

I was walking through the village with Kushina, on the way to the new Ichiraku Ramen believe it or not. I'd never tried ramen and was very curious to see if I'd like it as much as Naruto. After some puppy-dog eyes and pouting (another advantage of being an adorable kid), Kushina relented to go get some with me.

I was holding her by the hand so that I wouldn't get lost in the sea of people walking past us. No wonder children did this all the time in the anime; the bustle of these large figures could be pretty intimidating. I was idly scanning my surroundings, when I spotted spiky onyx hair out of the corner of my eye. I knew there were a lot of kids who had spiky dark hair, but it just looked so damn _familiar_ that my eyes were all but magnetized to it. When I saw the moping boy attached to that hair, I knew who it was pretty quickly.

 _'The hair, the ear protectors, the goggles over those onyx eyes... not to mention the jacket with the Uchiha crest on the back. No doubt about it, that's Obito.'_

Said boy looked grumpy, a slight frown contorting his face as he kicked at the ground. He was standing at the edge of a small playground, looking at someone. When my eyes followed his gaze, I couldn't help but chuckle a bit. Kakashi Hatake was casually ignoring a stammering Rin, a tired look on his face-or eyes, since that's what I was used to looking at to judge his expression. Kakashi was wearing his mask along with the simple outfit of a navy shirt and pants, tied together with a green patterned scarf around his neck. Despite his mature personality, Kakashi was a pretty adorable kid.

Rin was wearing an outfit that looked a little old-fashioned. It made her look a bit like a china doll, the poofy pink and brown dress-thing combined with a bow and her pale face. She was making an attempt to converse with Kakashi, blushing like a tomato.

 _'Rin, you're wasting your time with him at the moment... What is it with the depressed kids attracting masses of fangirls anyway? I bet if they were just **left alone** for a while they'd be less depressed.'_

I shook my head a little, and then turned it back to observe Obito. Perhaps he could sense me looking at him, but for whatever reason his eyes swerved my way. For a second, onyx met blue-grey. Then, my composure broke and I looked away nervously. From the corner of my eye I saw Obito's expression shift to one of confusion, before he shrugged and returned to glaring daggers at his rival.

In that second I looked at him, it was like a glimpse into his being. I could make out his internal emotions swirling within-jealousy, loneliness, hope-and most of all, an unwavering determination. It was then I realized something. All the people in this world, they weren't just _characters-_ they were living, breathing beings, each with their own aspirations, dreams, personalities and ways of thinking. They were _real._

Deep down, I felt an urge to go over to Obito and say hello, or introduce myself or something. But I was.. scared. I didn't know how to approach someone who I knew so well, yet perhaps not at all.

I doubt I'd have gotten a chance to anyway-Kushina kept pulling me along. Although she'd gained a little smile too, perhaps noticing when I was staring at Obito. Never the less I kept glancing at Obito, Rin and Kakashi until they were out of sight.

There actually wasn't much of a line at Ichiraku's, thankfully-it seemed to be a slow day. Entering the shop and sitting down, it felt weird to not be seeing it from some other perspective like when Naruto stopped by there in the anime. I was half expecting him to be sitting somewhere scarfing down twenty bowls of ramen, until the sight of a young Teuchi serving us snapped me back to the present. To my delight, the ramen tasted great. It reminded me of some Fusian noodles I used to eat a lot in my old life-the meat and vegetables added to it were a well-received bonus. It was no wonder Naruto was addicted to the stuff.

My mind gradually wandered from food to friendship, as I decided I'd go introduce myself to Obito if I saw him again.

* * *

A few days later, I made my first friend-but it wasn't Obito.

I was at the training field, throwing shuriken at a stationary log. I'd made frequent visits to the place since Father began to teach me about being a shinobi. I could now move fairly quickly, and I knew some basic taijutsu. I'd even managed to perform a little ninjutsu, after practicing chakra control and handsigns for a long time. I remembered the days I spent trying to walk on water or run up trees and the day I learned what my chakra nature was.

* * *

 _A four year old Yoku stood beside her father Torei, in front of a somewhat shallow lake surrounded by trees. Torei had told Yoku it was time to begin her shinobi training, after discovering she could control her chakra to some extent._

 _"Now Yoku, I want you to try and walk on the water of the lake. Concentrate some of your chakra at your feet, then keep it concentrated while you try to walk on the lake. This'll help you build up your chakra control. After you've managed to stay on the lake's surface without much difficulty, I'll show you another technique."_

 _Yoku knew what he was talking about-she remembered team 7 doing such a thing in an anime episode. She gulped when she recalled how many times Naruto fell in the water before he got his chakra concentrated for long enough. Taking a deep breath, she focused her chakra and took a step._

 _For a few seconds she stood as if on solid ground._

 _'Holy shit... I'm just like Jesus!' Despite knowing water walking was commonly used by ninja, it still felt new and incredible to her. Unfortunately in her moment of elation she faltered in her concentration._

 ** _Splash!_**

 _Yoku abruptly fell into the icy water of the lake, the cold shocking her out of her stupor._

 _"Just keep trying until you get it, Yoku. It's not easy at first-heck, I fell in at least twelve times before I got it right!" Torei chuckled and continued to encourage his daughter as she continued her attempts_

 _After a few more splashes, Yoku had gotten firmer control of her chakra and managed to stand on the water for a while before getting tired and sweaty._

 _"Well done! Are you ready for the next part, Yoku?" Torei asked the girl, who nodded with determination despite her exhaustion_

 _The father-daughter pair walked to a small clearing, surrounded by trees with very large and thick trunks._

 _'I see... the tree-climbing exercise' thought Yoku, preparing herself for a more difficult challenge_

 _"This time Yoku, you need to climb up a tree at a straight verticle angle, and you've got to run as far up as you can to land on a branch. Like the water walking, focus your chakra in your feet so you can stick to the trunk. But this time you have to concentrate on running up too, so be sure to stay balanced," Torei instructed and Yoku faced the tree, ready_

 _Or so she thought. Two hours later she'd finally stopped falling off the tree, managing to get up to a branch around the middle. When her father called her down, Yoku wore a sheepish look. He said that she could come back and practice; she accepted._

 _'Intensely focusing on two things at once is **hard.** The video games made it seem so easy...' Yoku thought as she headed home to get some rest_

* * *

Yep, chakra concentration wasn't easy. Eventually I managed to conquer the water and the damn climbing trees, but for a while they were the bane of my life. I still felt like setting them on fire sometimes.

But after I mastered the arts of tree-climbing and water-walking, I got to the more fun stuff-ninjutsu.

* * *

 _Yoku peered curiously at the piece of white paper Kushina held in front of her at a crouch. Up this close she could sense a faint buzz around it, cluing her in that it was a particular type of paper. Yoku had been waiting for this moment; she'd wanted to know her chakra nature since she began to train._

 _"Do you know what this is?" Kushina asked_

 _"Mm-hm. Chakra paper. It'll show me what chakra nature I have right?" Yoku replied_

 _"Yup. Here... just push a little of your chakra into it. If it crumples up, your nature is lighting, if it gets wet it means water, burning is fire, splitting is wind and turning to dirt is earth." Kushina smiled and handed the paper to Yoku_

 _The girl did as Kushina asked and was mildly surprised to feel the paper become soggy in her hand. Water._

 _"Well, looks like you got water. That's a pretty good one-water's patient but eventually it grinds everything down. Make sure you learn how to mold the nature chakra properly, I can help you with it if you'd like."_

 _Yoku grinned and replied with enthusiasm "Yeah! Let's go try it right now!"_

 _"Okay, but I can't stay long. I've got to go see Minato later.." Kushina said with a blush, standing up_

 _"You really like Minato, huh?" Yoku replied, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively in a way that Kushina found strange coming from a little kid_

 _"Oh, hush! We've got a... special connection. Who knows, you might have one with someone yourself someday!" Kushina ruffled Yoku's hair playfully_

 _"Hmph..." Yoku grumbled, but inside she contemplated her aunt's words_

 _'Maybe... that would be nice...'_

* * *

Since then I'd learned some basic water jutsu, nothing huge. My biggest annoyance was the handsigns-I could do them properly in the right order, but slowly. If I didn't fix that I'd be giving a lot of openings to enemies in the future.

After retrieving my shuriken, I practiced my handsigns, performing a jutsu.

"Water style: Water Bullet Jutsu!" a stream of water shot out of my mouth, small but cutting. I managed to make some gouges in the log with it, before I stopped due to strain.

I puffed and wiped my mouth, satisfied for the moment. Then I heard a loud, somewhat familiar voice somewhere near me.

"Hyaaaaaa!"

I turned my head to see the voice's owner-Might Guy. I'd recognize that bowl cut and energetic personality anywhere.

Guy was sparring-with Kakashi. The grey-haired prodigy dodged Guy's kicks with impressive speed, delivering a few of his own and throwing shuriken. Eventually Guy lay defeated on the ground, Kakashi standing above him with his arms folded.

"You'll never become a strong ninja if you keep fighting like that... you're weak." Kakashi's words ignited my temper-I threw a shuriken his way.

I'd aimed it not to harm him though-all it did was slice off a few strands of his fuzzy hair. But it got his attention.

" _You'll_ never become a strong ninja with an attitude like that..." I said, glaring at him slightly

Kakashi's eyes narrowed at me, and I got the impression that he was frowning beneath his mask.

"What would you know about strength... you're probably worse than him." he growled

"I know more about it than you do... in the mental sense at least. You may have skill, but you won't get far in life if all you ever do is shut everyone out." I replied hotly

Kakashi's glare intensified.

"I've had enough of this." he said after a moment, walking away

I huffed in frustration briefly, before turning to Guy.

* * *

"Here, let me help you up," I said, pulling him to his feet

Guy gained anime-tears, and I suspected he was about to say one of his speeches-suffice to say I wasn't wrong.

"Thank you, oh pretty stranger! You have given me a boost of confidence in the wake of my defeat-you shall be my new friend and rival!" he declared passionately, doing his signature "Nice Guy" pose

Like he often did in the anime, Guy made me grin with his over-the-top yet noble way of acting.

"Uhh.. thanks! I'll come back and spar with you sometime if you like."

"Why wait? We could meet each other in battle right now!" he replied eagerly

"But... aren't you already a little dinged-up?" I asked, eyeing the cuts and bruises covering him

"Pain is just another motivation on the path of Youth! By fighting you now, we'll both get stronger faster!" Guy replied, already getting into a battle stance

I gave in, having some energy to spare and interested in seeing how Guy fought "Okay, okay... but if we do this again, it better be on fairer terms."

* * *

Guy was pretty tough-his speed and fast strikes were difficult to avoid. I could move quickly too, but he had a lot of stamina. I managed to hit him with shuriken a few times, and got in a few punches and kicks. Ultimately it was ninjutsu that won me the battle-it took me several tries to even do the jutsu because of how slowly I did the handsigns and how fast Guy was. In the end though, I got him with a less damaging version of the water bullet jutsu I'd performed earlier.

We parted ways on good terms, intending to meet and fight again. I'd found a good way of training my handsign speed, but even better... I'd found a friend.

* * *

The next day, I made another friend. Can you guess who? It was mostly thanks to the prompting of my pushy aunt, who'd become all-too eager for me to make more friends after I told her about Guy when she was home with Minato. He and Kushina were sitting at the round wooden table in the living room, Minato eating some kind of stir-fry and Kushina reading.

Kushina looked up from the book in her hand after my explanation "He sounds pretty nice, not to mention he should be a good sparring partner for you. Was he that boy you were looking at the other day?"

"No.. I haven't seen _him_ around.." I answered, shuffling my feet a little

"Well if you do, go say hello! You'll never make more friends if you don't, y'know?" Kushina smiled at my display of shyness

"That's something I'm familiar with... I don't know if Kushina and I would be here if it wasn't for the rescue. I wasn't really sure how to approach her before that..." Minato said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head

"Oh come on, did I really scare you that much?" Kushina teased

"You didn't scare me, Kushina... I was just a little shy." Kushina smiled and took Minato's hand, causing them both to blush

 _'Awww, those two are such a nice couple...'_

"Uh... hey, Yoku, why don't you go explore the village for a bit? Maybe talk to that boy if you see him?" Kushina suggested

"Ohhh... okay, aunt Kushina. If you and Minato wanted some alone time you could've just asked!" I winked at her with a grin and made my way outside, leaving behind the two flustered near-adults

* * *

I walked idly through the village, observing all the shops and people around me. I'd decided to try and whistle too-it was something I'd never managed to accomplish in my old life. It was when I was focusing on making my "Whistle" not sound like just blowing wet air, when I bumped into someone turning a corner. I stumbled back a bit and apologized.

"Sorry-" we both said it at the same time, and I lifted my head to see the person lurking in the corners of my thoughts; Obito

"Heh... deja vu," I said with a sheepish grin, then immediately wanted to slap myself

 _'Deja vu? How's he supposed to know what that means?'_

"Huh?" he asked, looking back at me with bewilderment

"Ah... Deja vu. It translates to 'Already seen'. It's something you say if you encounter something familiar: like if one day I tripped on a branch, and then years later tripped on another branch in the same way, I'd say 'Deja vu'. I said it now because I saw you a few days ago." I explained, rambling a little

"Ohhh... I think I saw you too. I thought someone was looking at me. So, uh... Deja who?" he attempted, and I smiled at his mispronunciation

"Not 'Deja who', Obito. Deja _vu._ "

"Deja-wait, how do you know my name?" he asked, frowning in confusion

I coughed and made something up "I've heard people talking about you."

This wasn't entirely untrue; I'd heard some of the Uchiha make remarks about Obito. They called him a weakling and said that he'd never awaken his sharingan-to them he was essentially the runt of the litter. He was just a _kid,_ for Pete's sake.

"Oh.. yeah... they didn't say nice things, did they?" he said bitterly

I decided to cheer him up "No... but frankly, they were just being jerks. Everyone has the potential to be great if they try. You just need a strong will and people to care about."

Obito's face shifted to a look of hesitant hope.

"Really...?"

"Of course... just look at The First Hokage Hashirama and Madara as examples. When they fought at The Valley of The End, Hashirama won not only because he had skill, but because he had a strong desire to protect his village. Hashirama had all those people supporting him and they gave him the determination to beat his former friend. Madara was alone, his desire for power the only thing backing him up. In the end, Hashirama's will was stronger than Madara's." I finished, hoping he took it all in

Apparently he did, because his eyes lit up with excitement.

"Then... I want to end up like The First Hokage! I'll get stronger, then I'll be able to protect everyone and they'll finally acknowledge me!" Obito said passionately, causing me to grin

"Well Obito, I think you'll achieve your goal someday. I bet you have The Will of Fire within you too, like the Hokage!" Obito looked surprised for a few seconds, then smiled

Despite how much I was enjoying our conversation, I had to head off and train. I'd be entering the Academy in two weeks after all. With reluctance I said:

"Hey, sorry for keeping you standing here so long. I'll get out of your hair." I began to turn away, but Obito would have none of it

"Wait! Where are you heading?"

"To the training field. I'm gonna enter the Academy soon so I have to be prepared," I replied as I looked back at him

"I could come and spar with you! I'm trying to train for the Academy as well." Obito donned a cheesy grin and I felt myself relent

"Sure, that sounds like a good idea! Let's go..." We began to jog to the training field, a bright smile on my face the whole way.

* * *

Obito and I faced each other in a battle stance, ready.

"Don't go easy on me, okay? Hit me with everything you've got!" he exclaimed; I nodded

We charged, attacking with taijutsu. I quickly pushed Obito backwards-he began to strafe and throw shuriken. I got a few scratches but was mostly unharmed. When I saw him grind to a halt and move his hands, I did the same.

 _'Time to test my new jutsu...'_

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Obito finished his jutsu first, shooting a rather small ball of fire my way.

"Water Style: Starch Syrup Trap!"

A thin stream of very sticky fluid came out of my mouth, which was pretty revolting to me the first few times I used it. Nonetheless, the jutsu hit it's target-the fluid engulfed the fireball and impacted Obito with a loud splat.

He skidded on it and slipped, making disgusted noises as he tried to free himself. He eventually gave up with a sigh, already exhausted from performing his ninjutsu.

"Okay... you win."

I barely heard what he said, falling flat on my face from over-exertion.

 _'Ugh... so this is what using up a bunch of your chakra feels like.'_

"Yaay..." I mumbled half-heartedly

Obito got out of the syrup trap with a bit of struggling and walked over to me slowly.

"...you okay?"

"Yeah..just..tired... gimme a sec..." I puffed, and forced myself into a sitting position

"I may have won but... you did a pretty good job going against me when I was trying my hardest to beat you." I complimented, smiling tiredly

"Th-thanks! You were good yourself-maybe you could teach me some moves sometime." Obito said with a grin

"You know, I like the sound of that. I'm not sparring with Guy tomorrow, want to come and fight here again in the afternoon?" I asked; Obito answered with an enthusiastic nod

"One more thing, before I gotta go home and rest..." I decided to make use of Killer B's signature fist bump; I held mine in front of me shakily.

"Huh?" Obito quirked an eyebrow in confusion

"Bump your fist against mine and I'll tell you my name. I feel like a dunce for forgetting about it!" Obito sat down in front of me and obliged

"Hey there, my name's Yoku Uzumaki. Nice to meet you!" I smiled at him in a friendly manner

"Uhm... you already know my name, it's Obito Uchiha. Nice.. nice to meet you too!" he returned my smile

"You know, this fist-bump signifies something else as well.." I continued, and he gave me a querying look

"What?"

"That we're friends, dummy!" I exclaimed with a slight laugh

"Oh.. thanks!" Obito gave me a grin brighter than his previous ones, and I felt happiness well up within me

"No problem... well, see you tomorrow!" we disconnected our fists and I got to my feet with a groan. I stumbled and almost fell over, but Obito grabbed my shoulder to steady me

"You better go get some rest... bye!" he said, letting me go and walking off to make his way to the Uchiha compound.

* * *

It took me a while to get home. Physically I felt pretty bad, but within I was glowing. I'd made my next step in making this world a better place-Obito was now my friend. Plus for me, it was a bit of a dream come true. The sun was setting when I opened the door to my house and just about collapsed. I sat down on one of the chairs in the living room with a huff and saw Mother come in from the bathroom. She looked at me and gasped.

"Yoku, are you alright? It looks like you over-exerted yourself!"

"Yeah. I had a spar with someone. I used my new ninjutsu and it kinda burned me out."

"Well, be careful not to do it again... you know what happens if you run out of chakra, don't you?" I nodded with an 'Mm-hm'

Mother got me a plate of sashimi from the fridge, telling me to get clean and get some sleep. Soon enough I was in bed, Mother having kissed me goodnight.

The feeling of warmth was still within me, like a glowing ember. I fell asleep to thoughts of training and belonging.

Two weeks later I entered the Academy, ready for my rigorous education to start. Little did I know that I was going to face something much worse than schoolwork soon after.

* * *

 **Bam, end of chapter 3. Boy, this chapter is loooong... double the normal length! I had to cram all these nice scenes together at once before I started with the Academy stuff. Yoku now has two friends, and is improving her shinobi skills too. Her main skills as she grows will be speed, Kunai/shuriken throwing/combat, ninjutsu and perhaps some genjutsu. She may even have a kekkei-genkai. Also... dun dun dunnn! What could possibly be worse than schoolwork? You'll find out in the next less bright and happy chapter. Leave a review, fav or follow if you want, I welcome critiques. Plus they give me a boost :P**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, here's chapter 4! Thanks to noooh for the constructive criticism, I never realized I was making those grammatical mistakes. Also yeah, I combed through the previous chapters and there was some character bashing-I've edited each to scrub it out and fix the grammar errors. I feel like an ass for not realizing I was writing harshly when I'd expressed the very same distaste for such things a while ago. Sometimes my emotions seep into my writing, and recently I've been rather pissed off at one of my classmates. I'll try to write more positively though. You're kinda right though-Yoku is a brat sometimes-she's got a bit of a temper and is somewhat cynical. Lastly, I got rid of those author notes in the middle of chapters. Thanks everyone who left a review, fav or follow, I appreciate it!**

 **For some reason FFnet is being dumb and not displaying new reviews, but with the power of email I can still read them!** **  
**

 **In reply to your review ILoveRebornNarutoKProject: Obito will start with a crush on Rin as canon, buuut it might not stay that way... Don't worry, there will be romantic vibes soon. I just want to build up friendships first and not rush into anything. Patience is needed when it comes to love-it pays off in the end. I'm glad you're enjoying my story too :)**

 **In this chapter Yoku enters the Academy along with others and thanks to Random I'm no longer befuddled about ages. So everyone will graduate at the canon times as originally planned. There's some more training with Guy, then the thing that's "Much worse than schoolwork" happens... Read on to find out what it is.**

 **Warning: There are somewhat graphic descriptions of violence in this chapter.**

I made my way to the Academy with trepidation. I'd trained hard for the past week-both by myself and with Obito or Guy. On one hand I wasn't looking forward to school, but on the other hand I knew the things I'd be taught would be important. I came to the entrance of the Academy building, joining a crowd of many other kids. I recognized some of them; Asuma was talking with Kurenai, Aoba was bragging to Anko and Genma was listening to Guy, senbon in his mouth as usual. Kakashi was standing off to the side with his arms folded-he was already in the Academy, making me figure he was waiting for something else. Rin was standing near him, hands behind her back.

 _'Obito's not here... he's probably going to be late.'_

Obito spent much of his spare time helping others, usually the elderly. Because of this he was often late for things-a few of our sparring matches, for example. I didn't mind too much though-it gave me a chance for a warm-up.

Though now I was hoping Obito wouldn't be so long he'd miss the entrance exam. While waiting I waved to Guy and gave him a thumbs up-he returned it doubly.

* * *

After about twenty minutes, we were ushered into the Academy building by a few teachers. To my dismay Obito was still not among us. Kakashi branched off to another room; I followed the rest of the group, wondering what was required for entrance. I steeled myself for some tough test.

Well, we did get tested. But it wasn't anything super intense; first we had to run around a large room to prove we were fit (Guy did it twice). After that we were examined for illnesses or disease to make sure we were healthy. Thirdly, we had an examination of our abilities and chakra. At this point a few people were knocked out-Guy included. He was proficient in taijutsu, but had little in terms of ninjutsu or genjutsu skill. I knew he'd be granted admission eventually, so I didn't worry too much. Lastly we were given a folder containing some papers-a written test we would hand in the next day. Realizing Obito was still not there, I grabbed an extra folder for him.

 _'He'll still have to take the physical tests, but at least he won't have missed out.'_

When we all exited the building, I saw Obito racing towards us. He skidded to a halt, panting, then sighed as he realized he'd missed the exam. Most of the crowd ignored him, parting to walk around like water flowing past a rock.

"Late again, Obito?" Kakashi asked, causing Obito to glare at him briefly. I noticed Kakashi's folder was a different color to ours.

 _'Wait... didn't Kakashi graduate at a young age? Maybe those are the graduation papers.'_

I shrugged, then waved to Obito to catch his attention. He walked over to me and I handed him the folder.

"Here-I thought you'd be late so I grabbed some exam papers for you. If you hurry you should be able to do the physical tests now-just show the teachers the folder to go in. I'll wait here for you to finish."

"Phew, thanks! I thought I was gonna have to come back some other day. See you in a bit!" Obito replied with relief, rushing into the building after a moment

* * *

While I waited I walked over to Guy, thinking he could use some cheering up. Suprisingly, Kakashi beat me to it.

"You failed the entrance exam? It's probably because you have no skill with ninjutsu or genjutsu," Kakashi said after approaching him

"You're right about that-if my skills are lacking in those areas then... then I'll just have to get stronger in taijutsu-so strong that I won't even need ninjutsu or genjutsu!" Guy took Kakashi's words in a positive way, restoring his motivation. Kakashi shook his head perplexedly and walked over to a bench to sit down.

 _'... maybe I should go introduce myself to him. I've been unfair to the guy, so perhaps I should apologize as well.'_

So, I walked over to the bench with a cold sweat. I hoped he wouldn't remember seeing me.

"Uhhh... heyyy..." I started awkwardly. Kakashi glanced at me and then returned to his folder.

"..if it's about a love letter or something like that, no."

 _'Ah, so he doesn't remember me.'_

"Actually, I want to apologize for being rude to you around two weeks ago-" Kakashi was staring at me now. After a moment his eyes narrowed

"You..."

I held my hands up in a gesture of surrender and quickly explained "Whoa, wait, before you continue I have something to say. While I don't necessarily agree with what you said back there, I shouldn't have reacted so angrily. I apologize for what I said, and I hope from this point forward we can part on better terms as neutral strangers."

Kakashi's eyes eventually went back to his folder and he replied "...fine."

I let out a quiet sigh of relief and turned away.

* * *

As I moved my head I saw Rin standing to my left, eyes fixed on Kakashi. I approached her with friendly intent.

 _'I should say hi to her too. Maybe she has more depth to her character than what I've seen.'_

"Hello.. my name's Yoku. Yoku Uzumaki," I began, sticking out my fist. Like Obito, Rin was confused

"You bump your fist with mine and say your name. It's a form of introduction." I explained

"Oh... okay." Rin shyly smiled and we bumped fists

"My name is... Rin Nohara. Hello." I smiled and decided to start a conversation after we dropped our arms

"Well Rin, why did you want to enter the Academy?"

Rin paused for a few seconds before answering "I guess it's because... I want to become a medic-nin so I can help people and make a difference. Why did you want to enter?"

"Kinda like your reason. I want to become stronger so I can protect people and stop bad things from happening!" I grinned at her

"I guess we both want to help people, huh? Well, nice meeting you Yoku..." Rin said, smile lengthening slightly

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Obito coming out of the Academy building with a big grin on his face. An idea popped into my head.

"Hey, uh, Rin... why don't you go talk to Obito? Maybe he could tell you his reason for entering too." I pointed and Rin nodded, heading over to him

I liked Rin-she seemed nice, if a bit shy and reserved. Obito blushed as he started to talk with Rin and I gave him a wink.

 _'Maybe I could be his wingman... er... wingwoman?'_

* * *

After taking my written test in the following day, I sparred with Guy. If I'd thought he was determined before, that was nothing compared to what he was like after he failed the exam.

"You ready Guy?" I asked, both of us tensed to battle

"You better believe it, Yoku! I'm gonna go all out today, I have to if I want to improve myself!" I smiled and nodded-then we charged

Guy was like lighting, quickly throwing kicks and punches. I countered them as fast as I could and we ended up pushing each other back and forth.

 _'I've got to slow him down if I want to get a clear shot.'_

I gave Guy a hard kick, pushing him back. I formed handsigns as fast as I could and just barely managed to perform my ninjutsu.

"Water Style: Starch Syrup Trap!"

Guy was so close at that point that the syrup hit him full on. He flailed and skidded before slipping over. He struggled fervently-we were both exhausted by this point. I moved up to him, intending to punch him. Guy managed to pull one of his arms out of the syrup and flung it towards me as I did the same towards him.

We both hit our targets at the same time, each impact knocking us over. Both of us fell flat on our backs with a groan.

"Uh... draw..." I mumbled with a wince

"Yeah... ow..."

With much effort I was able to move the syrup off Guy-I'd figured out I could manipulate it to some extent after practicing. He staggered to a standing position, heaven knows how. I could barely move myself.

"I thank you for the amazing battle. I hope next time we shall be able to settle our stalemate with another clash of spirits!" Guy gave his typical pose, then offered to help me up

"No need... I think I'll just... rest for a bit..." I mumbled as my eyelids grew heavy

 _'Somebody will wonder why I'm here. Oh well...'_

Lethargy overwhelmed me and I fell asleep, snoring softly. I had pleasant dreams, unaware of the nightmare that would await me.

* * *

Karu whistled as she chopped some spring onions. She was alone, preparing a light soup simmering in a pot. She'd opened the window across from her to let out the steam. It was a quiet afternoon in the village-many shinobi had been dispatched to deal with a new threat. People were being kidnapped near Konoha by some group, for reasons unknown. The Hokage was worried that they would attempt to infiltrate the village itself.

Unbeknownst to him, they already had.

A pair of shinobi hid in the trees near the small house. To almost anyone, they were invisible. They were trained specifically for missions such as these; their mastery of camouflage jutsu even enabled them to hide their chakra signature. Both wore the uniform of The Hidden Mist Village Kirigakure along with bulky backpacks. The first ninja had long blond hair and green eyes. The second had shaggy dark brown hair and dark blue eyes, along with a sword strapped to his waist. Both wore dark grey masks that covered their faces from the nose down.

"So Akadi, remember the plan?" whispered the first ninja to the second

"Yeah Kada, we get in quiet and grab her, then we get her DNA," the second replied and the first nodded

"Good. We can't afford to screw this up, it was hard enough sneaking in here. I doubt we'll get another chance."

The pair descended from the trees and quietly made their way to the house. Akadi grabbed a damp rag from one of his pouches and prepared to enter the open window. Kada stayed next to the window with a kunai in case there was a struggle.

Akadi slipped through the window like a breeze, eyes focusing on Karu. The woman was alternating between cutting up garlic cloves and stirring the soup, humming. While Akadi was making his way towards Karu, a floorboard splintered under his weight. Karu paused and her eyes darted towards the window, but she couldn't see anything.

 _'...something doesn't feel right,'_ Karu thought with a frown, picking up her knife cautiously

Akadi decided it was now or never and leapt at Karu. He caught her in a fierce grip and she slashed around wildly.

"Shit!" Akadi exclaimed as he was cut a few times. He pressed the chloroformed rag in his hand onto Karu's face, feeling her weaken

"Nighty night, bitch." he chuckled darkly

As a last act of defense Karu slashed Akadi across the cheek, then fell unconscious.

Akadi dropped Karu with a thump and held his face, cursing vehemently. Kada entered the room and picked up Karu.

"What the hell did you do?!" she whisper-shouted

"I was sloppy, the bitch heard me and got in some cuts with her knife. Look, we gotta book it, we'll talk about this later!" Akadi replied angrily, wiping the blood from his face

Kada sighed with exasperation but regardless fled with her partner into the forest.

* * *

The Kiri-nin came to their temporary hideout-a small cave. Kada bound Karu with ropes from her backpack and pulled out a syringe.

"Can I do it? I _really_ want to stab this bitch," Akadi said eagerly, now with a bandage wrapped around his left cheek

"No. You're too volatile." Kada replied sharply, neatly plunging the needle into Karu's arm and extracting her blood

Akadi mumbled insults as Kada got a beaker, stirring rod and bottle of clear liquid. She poured the clear liquid into the beaker, then squirted some blood from the syringe. Very carefully, she stirred it with the rod. The mixture turned blue.

"Negative..." Kada growled

"What the hell? You mean we grabbed the wrong one?!" Akadi yelled

"Our source said it was her... it seems they were wrong." Kada's eyes narrowed in frustration

"Oh fuck this shit, let's just cut her up and leave her!" Akadi exclaimed, grabbing a kunai and advancing towards Karu

"No! We need to come back with _something._ Returning with the wrong specimen is better than returning with nothing... you know what the boss does if you have nothing," said Kada sternly after grabbing Akadi's wrist

"...you know if that's the case, we don't need to bring her back alive."

* * *

Karu was conscious now-so painfully conscious. Her body was covered in long bloody cuts, each one inflicted by the grinning psychopath in front of her.

"You enjoying that, bitch? I sure am. Maybe I should fuck up your face, like you did to me." Akadi brought his kunai to her face and slowly cut from her eyebrow to her jaw.

Karu once again screamed in agony, barely able to move from the pain that consumed her. Kada was somehow asleep outside the cave, tired of her partner's "Fun"

Akadi moved his face close to Karu's, speaking in a low whisper "We got the wrong person, but we'll find out who our real target is soon enough. I bet it's one of your family, huh? I don't give a shit what Kada says, I'm gonna send them a message-that one day, we're coming for them. You shouldn't have messed with me. Should've just accepted your fate."

Akadi unsheathed his sword and raised it above his head. Karu's eyes widened in fear as he prepared to bring it down on her neck.

"Nighty night for good, bitch."

* * *

"...where's her head?"

Akadi shrugged and replied casually "I let her leave one last message... one that'll scare the shit out of our potential targets."

Kada punched Akadi in the face, outraged.

"You fucking idiot! If we get traced because of this we are _dead!_ Do you hear me? _DEAD!_ "

Akadi rubbed his nose with a wince, attempting to calm his seething partner "Damnit, calm down! I didn't put anything specific..."

Kada shook her head angrily and turned away from him "Whatever, we don't have time. We need to get back to HQ with what's left of her and hope to Kami we don't become test subjects."

She moved to grab Karu's headless body and proceeded to seal it into a scroll. After a few minutes the pair of Kiri-nin left the village, their mission somewhat completed.

* * *

"Hey Yoku, are you okay?" I woke up to someone shaking me gently. Obito.

The sun was setting, bleeding across the horizon like a dying lion. I pulled myself up and rubbed my eyes, realizing I'd probably slept for a few hours.

"I came here to train and I saw you lying here-why were you sleeping?"

"I sparred with Guy and we kinda overdid it-I was so tired I fell asleep right here. I didn't mean to sleep this long though, thanks for waking me up," Obito grinned and held out a hand to help me up

When I was on my feet I stretched and yawned. My chakra was restored but I still felt tired-I was looking forward to getting home and sleeping on a bed instead of the ground.

"You wanna come see my house Obito? My mom's made soup for dinner-I'll probably be too tired to eat it, so you can have some if you want." I offered as a gesture of gratitude

"Oh sure, I was just gonna go home anyway." he replied with a nod; I smiled as we began to walk

* * *

 _'Mmm, I love Mother's soup. I hope Obito likes it as much as I do...'_

We came to the front door, and I detected a smell. It smelled like the soup I was thinking of, but there was also something else underlying it. As I pushed the front door open gently, the smell was stronger... and familiar. It was sickly, cloying scent with a tang of metal. I turned towards the kitchen where it was emanating from. Then froze.

 _'...'_

It was like a scene from a horror movie. Blood was splattered over the walls, dripping off the bench. A sizeable soup pot was knocked over on the ground, it's contents mixing with the crimson puddles around it. Someone had crudely written something on the wall in red.

WE WILL FIND YOU

YOU CANT HIDE FOREVER

Near those words, hanging from the hook usually occupied by oven mitts, was a severed head. The severed head of my mother.

I dropped to my knees, shaking uncontrollably as I stared into her lifeless blue eyes. This person who I had come to love so much and who had loved me so much, was gone... forever. I heard Obito entering the house behind me and managed to choke out a sentence.

"Don't look... for the love of god Obito, don't look..." I held a hand over my mouth, trying to quell the nausea rising within me

"Yoku? What's-" unfortunately I was too late with my warning and Obito caught sight of the bloody mess. He turned as white as a sheet, his eyes became huge.

"Wh... wh..." he stammered. I had curled into a fetal position, sobbing and repeating something to myself

"It's not real, it's not real, it's not real..."

I needed something, anything to cling onto, to distract me from this raw torment.

 _'Maybe... someone.'_

I got up shakily and walked over to Obito, who had just thrown up on the steps and was wiping his mouth. Wordlessly I pulled him into a hug, which he returned.

We stayed like that for some time.

* * *

"Lord Hokage, we found suspicious signs of a struggle outside the village." Minato said, he and his squad crouched before The Third Hokage

"What kind of signs?"

"We found a cave with a lot of blood in and around it. It was relatively fresh-not completely congealed. Whatever happened there, it happened recently."

Hiruzen smoked his pipe in contemplation "This is concerning knowledge. Have you brought a sample of the blood for analyzation?"

"Yes, Lord Third. We have deposited it and are awaiting results," Kushina said, crouched next to Minato

"Then you are dismissed. You should rest and investigate this matter further tomorrow." The shinobi nodded and exited, leaving Hiruzen to his paperwork

* * *

Kushina walked towards the door of her house, Minato behind her. To her suprise, it had been left slightly ajar-that was unusual. There was also something dripping off the steps. A familiar acidic smell hit her nose as she got closer.

"Vomit...?" she wondered

Then, she detected another scent, something far more concerning.

"Minato, something's wrong." Kushina whispered fearfully, causing Minato to tense up

"I can smell blood-quickly, we have to get in the house!"

Kushina pushed open the door, greeted with the sight of Obito and Yoku. They were silently crying and shaking, clinging to each other like they were about to fall apart.

"Help us..." Yoku whispered

Kushina turned to the kitchen. Her eyes widened as far as they could go and a hand went to her mouth. Behind her Minato was trying to talk to the children.

"What's wrong, Kushina?" he asked when he didn't hear her voice for a while

"Minato... go... go tell the Hokage..." she landed on the wooden floor with a thump, having fainted from shock

Minato took in the grim scene and picked up Kushina. With a grave frown on his face he turned to Obito and Yoku, now separated from their hug.

"Obito, take Yoku to your house. She'll have to stay there until this is... sorted out."

* * *

Minato went as fast as he could to the Hokage's office-which was pretty fast, considering his beginning reputation as The Yellow Flash.

After setting Kushina down on a chair, Minato explained the situation to the Third.

"She was murdered... most likely by whoever occupied the bloody cave we investigated. The message left is concerning-it implies they may come back."

Hiruzen frowned "Hmm... I wasn't careful enough. I suspect the ones who did this were the same group behind the recent kidnappings. They could be looking for the users of certain jutsu, if my theory is correct."

Minato raised his read in confusion "Sir?"

"Karu's husband, Torei Richi, possesses a jutsu that is not well known but desired by most who know of it. Those who killed Karu probably thought _she_ was the one who possessed it, then realized otherwise. If that is the case, measures will have to be taken to keep him and his family from harm."

"Lord Hokage, what will happen to Yoku?" Minato asked-Hiruzen closed his eyes in thought

"She will have to remain away from the house for the moment. I will increase security, so it will be unlikely the kidnappers will infiltrate the village again. But it is best to be cautious; we still aren't entirely sure of our enemy. You are dismissed, Minato-take care of Kushina."

Minato nodded, picked up Kushina and headed towards his house.

* * *

I walked through the Uchiha compound like a zombie, dragging my body forward without really thinking about it. Some of the Uchiha were glancing at me and mumbling with distaste, but I wasn't listening.

Eventually we came to Obito's house. The door was opened and we were ushered in by a kindly old woman who I learned was Obito's grandmother. Obito quietly explained what was going on and his grandmother was only too happy to let me stay for a bit.

In the end I was sitting on the couch sipping tea, a blanket wrapped around my shoulders. I was so tired, but I couldn't fall asleep. I was hurting too much.

* * *

 **End of chapter 4, bam. Eh... a little depressing, wouldn't you say? Maybe a bit melodramatic and cliche too-I apologize, I've never written a kidnapping scene and I found it kind of boring. Akadi and Kada might make a reappearance in the future though. I'll explain their personalities a bit in case anyone is confused: Kada is levelheaded and generally patient, usually following orders without question. Akadi is a little unstable and a bit of a sadist but usually follows his orders like Kada.**

 **The death of her mother will affect Yoku, but she'll not be extremely damaged in the end because she has dealt with family deaths in her past life-though none were this gruesome. Poor Obito had to see that horrible scene too, so he'll change a bit himself.**

 **Next chapter the story will start to pick up, describing life at the Academy and the development of Yoku's relationships with other people. Maybe a little but about this "Mysterious group" too. If I screw stuff up about the Academy I apologize in advance, I don't have a huge amount of info on it's inner workings but I'll try my best. Leave a fav, follow or review if you want and see you next chapter!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, I got chapter 5 for you here! Thanks to anyone who left a fav or follow. In this chapter, Yoku adjusts to life in the Academy after the death of her mother. Along with regular shinobi curriculum Yoku learns the ways of flower arrangement and blending into cultures in kunoichi classes. She tries to fill the new hole within her with friendship (god, that sounds sappy) and tries her hand at being a tutor. Later she gets a heavy talk with her father about genetics and prejudice. Yoku also gets wounded.. by a fruit. I'll try to make this a nice fluffy feel-good chapter, showing growth and development. Please don't kill me if I get Academy stuff wrong, I'm making up most of it with a little help from the wiki.**

 **Thanks to everyone who left reviews, you guys make me feel warm and fuzzy with your nice words. They aren't showing up on-site, but I can still read them thanks to my email. I'm glad you're all enjoying my story :P**

 **Near the end there's a bit of a time-skip, marking the start of a shift some of you were probably waiting for.**

 **Anyway, I'll start this off on an ominous note. I'll be writing a nasty oneshot continuation of this little scene, so keep an eye out if you want to read it.**

 _In the Land of Water..._

A sweaty, nervous man walked hurriedly through a grey corridor. He wore a blue apron over a white shirt and pants. On the back of his shirt was a small image of a wave crashing against a rock. His brown hair was very short and his tired blue eyes flicked left and right. His name was Sirao.

He approached the room in front of him cautiously. He knew it was a bad idea to disturb the boss when he was working, but he'd lost his bet. He had to deliver the bad news now. Sirao knocked thrice apprehensively, then slowly opened the grey door to an operating theater.

The doctor in front of him was hunched over a twitching man on a table, scalpel glimmering lethally in one hand. His hair was shiny and grey-black, the color of steel. A pair of eyes the very same color held a calculating and hard gaze. His skin was somewhat pale, his face angled and grave-looking. He wore a white lab coat and a surgeon's mask, along with white gloves. His shirt and pants were black, as were his polished shoes. Aside from the gloves and shoes, each item of clothing had faded stains on it.

His surroundings were pristine and white, yet the sterility of the place seemed to be hiding something sinister. Various liquids were in glass containers on a bench to the doctor's left; to his right was a collection of syringes and medical tools. Large machines beeped and droned around the room, some hooked up to bubbling containers.

"Stop struggling, now... I'm going to make you all better. Then you can help me..." the doctor said almost soothingly as he lowered the scalpel, ready to make an incision

"Sir..?" Sirao piped up nervously from the ajar door

"Dammit, what? Did they capture the specimen I asked for?" the doctor turned around, irritated at being interrupted

"Ah... no... but..." Sirao stammered, the oppression of the room weighing him down

"No...?" the doctor's eyes narrowed dangerously

Sirao's own eyes bulged in fear and he tried desperately to appease the angered man "B-but we brought you something useful, see-"

"I do _not_ tolerate failure..." the doctor's voice was cold as ice; he pulled a modified syringe filled with a purple liquid out of his coat, advancing towards Sirao

"Please, no!" the Kiri-nin's pleas fell on deaf ears. There was a rush of air when the syringe was thrown at him with deadly accuracy

As Sirao's unconscious form slumped to the polished floor, the doctor smirked behind his mask.

"Perhaps you will be of use to me as raw genetic material..."

* * *

I was a little silent for a bit after Mother died. Granted, I still talked with Obito and his grandmother since I was staying at their house, but to others I didn't say much. I kept in touch with Rin and Guy, but I usually kept conversations brief with them. I wanted, needed, time to think, to process.

On my first day at the Academy my gloomy disposition was less but still apparent to others. Though I motivated myself, I was still grieving inside.

"Come on Obito, we can't be late for our first day!" I called to the Uchiha who was still in the bathroom. I myself was rushing, pulling on my grey jacket and checking my bag

"Hld n, m' brushing m' teeth!" came the muffled reply

After about half a minute Obito burst out of the door, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. He fastened his goggles and grabbed his bag, briefly checking it like me. Obito's grandmother bid us good luck and we ran out of the house.

We were quite a sight-both of us running and grinning like idiots through the compound. We bumped into a few people, muttering quick apologies then continuing on our way. I'm pretty sure somebody yelled at us too-we were running pretty clumsily and loudly.

Obito and I soon made our way to the Academy, barely in time for class. As we entered our room I could see almost everyone else was there-they all turned their heads to look at us.

 _'What is it with people automatically looking at someone when they enter a room?'_

An awkward silence filled the air as we took our seats next to Rin; she'd saved them for us. To my immense relief, the teacher cleared his throat and everyone turned to look at him instead. I raised an eyebrow at the design of the classroom. Tall wooden desks surrounded a small stage below in a semicircle, said stage having a large blackboard behind it.

 _'This is so weird... it's like a lecture room in a university. They're unconsciously emphasizing the fact that ninja have to grow up quickly.'_

My attention turned to the teacher, a skinny-looking man with short, straight blond hair and olive eyes. He wore the standard shinobi uniform of a flak jacket over dark clothes, forehead protector tied around his neck.

"Greetings, class. I am Imarai Yamanaka, your teacher for the next few years. Since all of you are new here, we'll start this lesson with an explanation of what you will be taught. The curriculum is as follows: Language, math, literature, taijutsu training, ninjutsu training, genjutsu resistance, chakra manipulation, use of ninja tools and shinobi history. We will have class trips now and then to learn about the village as well." after finishing his list, some kids broke out in hushed conversation

 _'Mmm, a more interesting lineup than what I'm used to. Pity there's no Digital Technology though.'_

"Girls will be required to attend kunoichi classes to learn about espionage and infiltration. "

 _'Espionage and infiltration? Sounds fun... I hope.'_

* * *

After a few minutes of mumbling among the students, the teacher began the lesson. When he began to talk about the basics of literature, my mood slumped and I sighed. Just stuff I already knew. Resting my head on my hands, I lazily gazed at the people around the room. My ears caught the sound of someone whispering near me- _about_ me.

"Didn't she-"

"-dead, right?"

"-that loser Obito-"

"-weird-"

 _'Typical, ugh. So this is what Sasuke and Kakashi felt like.'_

My eyes drifted towards the pair of kids. One was a girl with thick black hair in a ponytail, while the other had short brown hair and a senbon in his mouth.

 _'Dammit, Genma.'_

I shifted my expression, letting my eyes rest on him in a lazy glare for a couple of seconds.

He sweat dropped and fell silent. I let out a sigh and dropped the glare, my vision flicking towards the people sitting next to me.

Rin looked to be focused and trying to take in the lesson. She was jotting down notes in a book too-I envied her ability to be attentive.

Obito's posture was a reflection of mine, slumped and bored.

 _'Looks like I'm not the only one... sigh.'_

* * *

Eventually we went on to math, then history. We began by learning about the Warring States period-I listened to refresh my memory.

"Before the Five Great Nations existed, clans were independent and constantly at war with other clans. They were desperate struggles, in which even children fought and frequently lost their lives. Out of all the clans that fought, there were two more powerful and well known than others-The Uchiha and The Senju."

"That's your clan, Obito." I whispered to the boy to my left, about to doze off. It woke him up and he began paying attention, to my relief

"The Uchiha were known for their powerful visual jutsu, the Sharingan, while the Senju were known for their proficiency in many jutsu."

From there Imarai went on to talk about Madara and Hashirama's friendship, though not without a few errors. At one point, I actually corrected the teacher because of my frustration. It was a legitimate correction, but I think I was being a bit of a smartass too at the time.

"Madara began to go blind from using the Mangekyo Sharingan; seeking to restore his power, he killed his brother Izuna and stole his eyes-"

"Sir?" I asked, raising my hand

"Yes, Yoku?"

"What you're saying is what many believe, but it's inaccurate. Madara didn't kill Izuna _or_ steal his eyes. Izuna died from a wound inflicted by Tobirama and gave his eyes to Madara on his deathbed."

...

...

*cough*

...

"Yoku, how can you be sure of this knowledge? None of us actually saw these events happen; we know what happened based on our history. Madara was known to be consumed by The Curse of Hatred-it is most likely that he killed his brother to gain his eyes. Please, refrain from further interruptions." Imarai replied, shutting me up

My face fell onto my desk with a thud and a sigh, sporting the anime look of defeat.

"Fyi, I _did_ see those events happen... on a tv screen..." I mumbled into my desk despairingly

Imarai spent the rest of the lesson explaining how Konoha was formed and the battle at The Valley of The End. _I_ spent the rest of the lesson lying on my desk in a sour mood.

* * *

At the end of the lesson we were given class schedules and a basic test sheet for homework.

"Your individual skills will be analysed based on your results for this test, so put in a good effort!" said Imarai before dismissing us

We filed out of the room with a mix of grumbling and chatter. I was doing a bit of both.

"Ah, homework, my old nemesis..." I said as I regarded the sheet in my hand

"Aw man, I can't believe we got homework on the first day!" Obito groaned, poking his tongue out

"Don't worry Obito, it's probably not very difficult," said Rin in an attempt to cheer him up

Obito blushed and smiled before replying "I hope so.."

I sighed and shook my head at the sight of the lovestruck boy; Rin was pretty oblivious.

* * *

A week after Father was told of Mother's death, I didn't go near him. He was a sensitive man at heart-Mother's death really sucked the life out of him. It didn't last forever though. After a while of avoiding him, I was approached by Father at the training field. Obito, Guy and I were playing rock-paper-scissors of all things.

"Rock paper scissors shoot!" we said in unison, Guy and I's hands freezing at 'shoot'

I was beating Guy 8-6. Obito and I were tied at the moment, 7-7.

My hand was flat, Guy's was a fist.

"Once again I have tasted defeat, but my spirit will not waver! Again!" Guy said with passion

 _'To think he's so determined even with small things like this..'_

We were about to go again, when I felt a familiar presence behind me. A presence I was afraid of facing. Obito paled a little and gulped in front of me, confirming my thoughts.

"Yoku," the voice sounded different, lacking in... something

I slowly turned to face Father, heart pounding. He looked a little thin and... tired. His eyes didn't really have the spark of life within them anymore.

"Y... yes, Father?" it was like facing a stranger-I didn't know how we was going to react

"Come with me. I need to show you something."

Gulping, I nodded and began to follow him. I turned my head to look at my friends, both of whom looked back with sympathy.

* * *

Father and I came to our house-a chill ran up my spine. Images flashed through my mind of the night Obito and I found Mother dead. The house, which had once filled me with a feeling of familiarity and safety, now filled me with fear. I shook as we entered it, expecting the smell of blood to hit my nose any second. It didn't. The kitchen was spotless, as if it had never been touched. The sterility of it reminded me of a hospital-unnaturally clean and hiding gruesome secrets.

Father stopped and spoke with sudden seriousness "Yoku, you must never speak to _anyone_ of what I am about to show you. Alright?" I nodded, frozen in anticipation

Father pulled out a kunai. I was horrified to see him drag it down the exposed flesh of his arm, leaving a long bleeding cut.

 _'Oh god... has he become a masochist?'_

"It's okay, this will be gone in a moment..." he said calmly, sensing my terror

Father placed his hand on my shoulder, then closed his eyes in concentration. After a few seconds, I felt as if I was being slowly weakened. Something was draining from me. My drooping eyes widened as I saw the cut on Father's arm knit itself together and disappear. He let go of my shoulder, leaving me tired.

"Y-your... your arm!" I stuttered, pointing at it with a shaking finger

"I know... Yoku, what you have just witnessed is the jutsu that I am certain got your mother killed." Father spoke in a grave tone, then proceeded to explain

"This is known as the Chakra Leech jutsu. It allows the user to absorb the chakra of others, healing themselves and draining the victim. It's genetic, essentially a kekkei-genkai. However, there are few of my clan left. Yoku, do you know of the Yuki clan?"

"The ice-style users..." I replied, getting a vague idea of what he was implying

"Like them, people of my clan were condemned for our jutsu. This was because there were some who used the Chakra Leech Jutsu to an extreme. They murdered many people, sucking them dry of their chakra and healing their own wounds. Essentially, discounting age and sickness, they were immortal if they had enough chakra available. After they were used in battles as mercenary soldiers, persecution of users of the jutsu became more common. People were killed just because they carried the clan name-eventually, most of us were wiped out. We became less well known too-eventually fading into obscurity." Father paused for a moment, walking into the kitchen

When he spoke next, he sounded like a different man.

"They killed Karu... because of me. They wanted my jutsu, but they got her instead. I know they will keep trying to hunt me down, they've been trying to find me for years. For this reason, I fear for your life. Yoku... if you inherit the Chakra Leech jutsu, your life and the lives of those you care about could be in great danger if anyone were to discover it. If you do obtain this jutsu, remember what I have shown and told you today. For the sake of yourself and others, you cannot breathe a word. Understand?"

Filled with uncertainty, I nonetheless replied with a firm nod.

* * *

Weeks passed, Father's words still weighing on my mind. I continued to stay at Obito's house, as Father felt it best to be away from me for now. The Academy was going better for me at least-I got generally good marks. I would have gotten better ones if I didn't still possess my old lazy streak. I would tutor Obito sometimes, hoping to speed up his development and get him to around my level. One day, I told Obito the story of the Otsutsuki clan. I was dubious about telling him things like that, but decided it was part of his ancestor's history and he deserved to know about it. Plus, if all went according to plan, Madara would never tell Obito about it anyway.

While telling the story to Obito, I was also eating a pineapple. In retrospect it was a bit rude, but as soon as I saw the fruit sitting on the kitchen bench I just _had_ to have some. I've always had a love-hate relationship with that fruit. So delicious, yet so painful.

"Okay Obito, you want to hear an old story?" I asked Obito, who was eating an apple

He raised an eyebrow at me "*crunch* Ish it a good shtory?"

"Yep. It's pretty ancient history, but interesting. It's the story of the Otsutsuki clan, the first people to posses chakra." I took a large bite out of a pineapple slice when I finished, juice dripping down my chin

Obito's onyx eyes widened and focused on me, interested. For once he wasn't wearing his goggles or ear protectors, giving me a clearer view of his hair and facial features.

 _'I like his face...'_

Seconds after thinking that I almost choked on the piece of pineapple in my mouth. Shaking my head to clear away the random thought, I continued my story.

"A long time ago, people didn't have chakra. *slurp* They fought all the time, in never-ending conflictsh. *gulp* There was a large tree that grew in the land they lived in, called the 'God Tree', which the people worshiped. *chomp* Every thoushand yearsh, the tree bore fruit known as 'Chakra fruit'. It was forbidden to touch thish fruit *gulp*, but one day a warrior princess known as Kaguya ate the fruit, seeking to stop the war. The fruit gave her immense power, which she used to end the war and bring peace." I paused to grab another slice of pineapple and wipe my face with a tissue

"So that power she got was chakra?" Obito asked, now thoroughly engrossed

"Yeah. In the end, people both worshiped and feared her as The Rabbit Goddess. *slurp* Eventually she had two sonsh, Hagoromo and Hamura. Realishing they had been born with chakra, Kaguya eventually sought to take it from them, believing all chakra to be hersh. *gulp* Hagoromo and Hamura sealed her away after defeating her in a tense battle." It was then that I noticed my mouth was stinging. Like an idiot, I ignored it and mindlessly shoved more delicious pineapple into my mouth

"Long story short, Hagoromo became the sage of sixsh pathsh, creating the tailed beastsh and sharing chakra with all other humansh. He alsho had two sonsh, from whom the Uchiha and Senju are deshended." Now my mouth was burning, like I'd swallowed acid. But really, that _was_ what had happened.

"Uh, Yoku. Your mouth is bleeding." Obito said suddenly, pointing to my mouth with a worried expression

Sure enough, I could taste blood. It was coming from my tongue and my lips, turning the pineapple rind I was sucking on orange. Something clicked in my mind.

 _'Ah. Right. Pineapples are acidic. I **knew** there was a reason I stopped eating them!'_

With a disappointed sigh I placed down the pineapple rind and held a tissue to my mouth. Obito had finished his apple, which I now wished I had eaten instead. My mouth was in agony-forget overdosing on drugs, _never_ overdose on pineapple or you will regret it.

"Bad pineapple." I muttered bitterly through the tissue

"Geez, remind _me_ never to eat one." Obito remarked with an empathetic glance

* * *

Kunoichi classes were enjoyable. We learned the ways of other cultures, which I found interesting since I didn't know much about the inner workings of some of the nations. I also liked discussing things with Rin-she shared my enthusiasm. Our teacher was a woman by the name of Ikicha Moruna. She wore a long black jacket over a white shirt and navy pants. Her hitai-ate was tied around her waist instead of her head. Her brown hair was long, thick and wavy. One lock covered her right eye-combine that with makeup and a confident stride and she was a woman with power. I was certain that if there were males in the class, at least a few would be crushing on her.

She was sharp, too-few people got away with making trouble in Ikicha's class. I understood most of the things taught to us- _most_ of them. Flower arranging was one area where I slipped up...

"Today, you shall be learning the art of flower arrangement. You will use this skill to blend into new environments." Ikicha said, gesturing to a simple yet pretty plant arrangement to her right. We had plants and a pot on our desks; we had to use them to copy the design. I was tired and only half-listening, so after arranging my plants I did something that should have occurred to me as stupid the moment I tried it.

I attempted to use the plant as camouflage.

 _'Blend into new environments... how am I supposed to use this to hide? Maybe I'm meant to use a henge or something... or try to duck behind it?'_

I was earning quizzical looks from the class. Rin asked me what I was doing.

"Trying to use this to blend into the environment, duh." I replied, still trying to solve the mystery of how such a small plant could conceal anything

"Uh, Yoku. Ikicha-sensei meant 'Blend in to new environments' as in 'Mimic other cultures to blend in with them', not to use them to hide." Rin informed me awkwardly

After processing her words for a couple seconds, I facepalmed. Then let my head thud onto the desk.

"I need coffee..." I mumbled into the wood

* * *

I'd been in the Academy for almost a year and a half-I was seven now. I was progressing steadily, above average. Although I wasn't too keen on advancing quickly-I was lazy and didn't want to wait for my friends to catch up to me. Guy had been admitted into the Academy as I'd predicted, and aside from ninjutsu and genjutsu classes he was doing pretty well. He was the best in our taijutsu lessons for sure-some of my fellow students speculated he had unlimited energy since he usually did exercises several times over.

Obito had started out slow but was doing better thanks to a little assistance on my part, settling in the average area of marking. Our friendship had grown in time, becoming a near-unbreakable bond. I shared this with Guy too, Rin a little less so but still a solid friendship. I was really enjoying life, the only blots being the occasional failures, arguments and reminders of my depressed father.

Speaking of Father, we had grown a little distant. I eventually moved back into my house, but I rarely interacted with Father aside from meals. All he ever seemed to do was missions-to me it was like he just kept throwing himself into danger. He was such a shell of a man then that sometimes I wondered if he was hoping to die on one of his assignments.

Eventually, I discovered two thorns in my side. One of which was out of my control, but the other was totally my fault. The second one took longer to become apparent than the first, but was more painful.

* * *

The first thorn was revealed to me one sleepy afternoon. Our Academy class was doing training with ninja tools to finish off the day's lesson. We were throwing kunai and shuriken at wooden targets, trying to hit as close to the middle of them as possible. We'd also been split into two teams-red and blue. Each team had kunai and shuriken painted with their respective color. The people in the teams took turns to throw the projectiles-we obtained more points for better accuracy.

I did pretty well in the red team, satisfied with my hits for the most part. I smiled a little more with satisfaction each time my projectile hit the target with a thunk. In the end though, we lost.

At the end of the session our teacher counted up the points and collected most of the tools. Blue team won by a little more than us-Genma was now my nemesis in more ways than one. After everyone was dismissed, some of us had to stay behind to clean up the tools. I was picked because I'd bothered Imarai with my "Corrections" more than once. Obito was picked because he'd fallen behind in some of his work. Rin stayed just to be helpful.

Running around carrying sharp tools, I guess I should have seen it coming. Shinobi in training or not, I was a kid and I was clumsy. I tripped on a kunai stuck in the ground while carrying some shuriken. When I got up, one of them was embedded in my arm.

"Ow." I said, dumbly staring at the wound

"Whoa Yoku, are you okay?!" Obito exclaimed after he caught sight of my predicament

"Yep. Sorta. I think. Hey, Rin. Do you know any medical ninjutsu yet?" I asked casually, keeping my tone calm

Rin turned her head, gasped and covered her mouth.

"N-not really... yet..."

"That's okay... maybe if I just pull it out..." bad idea. Blood started to squirt out of the cut after I took out the shuriken

"Oh Jesus. Shit, shit shit..." I muttered, trying to stem the flow

It was no use. I began to feel weak from blood loss and lay down, my vision becoming hazy.

As I looked up at the frantic faces of my friends, I felt something soft nudge my hand. I turned my attention to it.

 _'Is that a cat...?'_

Sure enough, it was. A ginger cat purring and nuzzling my hand for some reason. It felt warm-then, that warmth began to travel up my arm and into the rest of me. I felt myself getting better. My vision became clear again and I sat up.

"Wow, I didn't know cats could..." I noticed the pale faces of Rin and Obito

"Uh... guys?" I got no response, except for Rin pointing at the cat

It was laying down, no longer purring. Or breathing.

An icy chill ran down my spine. Carefully, slowly, I felt it's neck for a pulse. There was none. I checked my arm, which was no longer hurting. The cut was gone.

 _'I... I killed it.'_

"Oh god..." I said, feeling like I was going to throw up

"Guys... please... please don't tell anyone about this. I-I didn't mean to k-kill the cat, it j-just happened!"

I was shaking, holding back tears. Obito rested a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay Yoku. We won't tell anyone." next to him Rin nodded. I felt comforted by their presence. Instinctively, I drew Obito into a hug-partly because he'd helped me through bad times before, and partly because of something I didn't recognize at the time.

As I stood there with my arms wrapped around him, a single thought kept pulsing in my brain like a migraine.

 _'I'm a monster.'_

* * *

 **Damn. My chapters keep getting out of control and super long. But whatever-I enjoy giving you guys lots of content. The pineapple scene was inspired by an event in my life-pineapples are not to be underestimated. Maybe Yoku should become a fruit ninja and get some juicy revenge. The flower-arranging scene was created because I got confused by the explanation of the art and assumed they were used like shrubs to hide behind -_-**

 **To explain the Chakra Leech jutsu a little more-the amount of chakra needed for complete healing depends on the severity of the injury. For example, healing back a freshly sawn-off leg or regrowing an organ would take a huuge amount of chakra compared to healing gashes or cuts.**

 **Leave a review, fav or follow if you want. The next chapter has some more growth and Academy antics, more Guy cheesiness and more training. And hey, maybe that missing genre will start to show it's face ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Yo, here's me with chapter 6. Thanks to anyone who left a fav or follow. Also yay, I can see the reviews on-site again! So here are my replies to them:**

 **Kennamon Roll- Wow, I didn't realize I got the name wrong. I use Google Translate for words in other languages because it's readily available and I'm lazy. I didn't think of using websites-I will do that from now on if I need help with japanese names. Yoku's name will remain unchanged, but I will probably go back and edit that first chapter to fix the inaccuracy.**

 **sal-bun-Heheheh... nice to see people can notice my plotting.**

 **lizy2000-I know ;_; the poor thing didn't know what it was getting into. Thanks, whether she will use it/adjust to liking it remains to be seen.**

 **Tanner Clark-I'm glad you're enjoying it so far! The review problem has been fixed now :P**

 **In this chapter we see Yoku investigate her newly gained ability, face off against Guy again with some new skills and get up to some mischief. She'll also acknowledge that second thorn in her side after a little time skip.**

I approached my father with apprehension. It had been three days since the "Shuriken Incident", and I'd finally relented to tell Father what had happened. He wasn't quite the same man anymore-my mind conjured up frightening scenarios based on his reaction. He was currently eating lunch on the dining table quietly, one of the few times we were both in the house.

"Father..?" I began tentatively

He grunted in acknowledgement but didn't move.

"You know what you told me a while ago... about the jutsu?" Father's chopsticks froze halfway to his mouth and his eyes swerved to me

"I think I might have it!" I blurted out, causing Father to get up abruptly

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes. A few days ago, I got cut pretty bad. When I was laying on the ground a cat came and nuzzled my hand. After a couple seconds I felt better and my cut was gone, b-but the cat was... dead." I shivered, the idea I'd sucked the very life out of the creature without even noticing still filling me with revulsion

"...shit." I was surprised to hear Father curse-he did so rarely

"F-father, how did I absorb the c-cat's chakra? I wasn't focusing on it.."

"Sometimes, the Chakra Leech jutsu can be activated unconsciously if the body is in a bad state. Also, because you've never used it before, you don't have full control of it. Yoku, I'm going to need to train you. This jutsu can be very dangerous if not used with extreme caution-and I hope you'll never have to use it on anyone. Come with me." Father's voice was serious and commanding-I did so with little hesitation.

* * *

Father took me to the same clearing where I'd once trained my chakra control-and still visited on occasion. I cast a withering glance at the climbing trees as we passed them.

"Now, I'm going to cut you. After I have, place your hand on me and focus on absorbing my chakra. Be careful not to absorb too much-chakra is used up for healing almost as soon as you absorb it, and after the wound has healed any chakra absorbed will just be wasted." Father instructed; I nodded for him to begin

 _'This doesn't sound even remotely sane, but I can't stand the thought of accidentally killing something again...'_

I gulped as Father pulled out a kunai-I knew what was going to happen but was nonetheless afraid. Who wouldn't be, knowing your own father was about to wound you?

I shivered as I felt the cold steel slice into my arm, leaving a stinging cut. Taking a deep breath and trying to ignore the pain, I placed a hand on Father's arm and felt his chakra. Concentrating, a familiar warm feeling grew within me as his chakra began flowing out of his body and into mine.

Despite it's warmth, I didn't like this feeling. All it did was remind me I was literally sucking the life out of someone. I noticed my cut was healed and my hand jerked away as if it had been burnt.

 _'Crap... I need to stay focused. I absorbed some excess because I got distracted!'_

Father didn't look too worse for wear, but he was a little pale and puffing slightly. It was disturbing to think I had weakened him.

"Not bad... you need to remember to concentrate better though, Yoku. I said before that you're wasting chakra if the wound has healed, but I didn't tell you of the other danger..." I looked at him with surprise as he said this

His eyes became downcast in a melancholy expression, and he continued.

"There were some of my clan who... who sucked everyone they fought dry, whether they had to or not. This practice twisted and distorted them. They did this so frequently that they became addicted to the feeling of leeching someone's chakra. They became insatiable inhuman beasts, driven by the desire to suck the life out of everything they could. We.. eventually had to put them down." Father's eyes closed and a look of pain flitted across his face for a second

"Oh.." I mumbled

 _'Did he have to kill his own family?'_

Father recovered his composure and finished his explanation.

"So Yoku, please be very careful when you use this jutsu. It is useful, but can be extremely volatile if not treated with caution. Remember that."

"Yes, Father. Thank you..."

For the first time in a few months, Father smiled. I basked in this brief moment of happiness, before Father ruffled my hair and said it was time to go home.

* * *

Shortly after we returned to the house, someone knocked on the door. Father grabbed a kunai quickly-since Mother's death he was almost always on his guard. I was eating ramen, noodles dangling from my mouth as I paused at the knock. Internally I prayed for the visitor to be non-hostile.

Father opened the door, revealing familiar faces I'd not seen much of for a while.

"Whoa, Torei, it's just us!" Kushina waved her hands in surrender when she saw her brother-in-law wielding a kunai

Minato stood behind her, sweating nervously. Both were wearing their civilian clothes.

Father lowered his kunai and ushered them in "Oh, Kushina, Minato. Come in, there's some ramen in the fridge. Yoku should be pleased to see you as well..."

Inhaling the last of my ramen with speed that could put Naruto to shame, I ran to greet my aunt. We met in a hug, laughing with joy.

"Wow, you've gotten bigger!" exclaimed Kushina as she took in my larger stature

"Yep, I'm growing like a weed. Who knows, I might be taller than you one day!" I replied, standing on my tip-toes to emphasize

Kushina poked her tongue out in jest, then ruffled my head.

"Pfft, you wish!"

"Hey, what am I, chopped liver?" said Minato from the background

"Sorry, uncle Minato. Hi!"

I held my hand up in a fist, waiting for Minato to bump it with his own. When I glanced at him after a few seconds he seemed to be frozen.

"I'm not-Kushina and I aren't m-married-" he began to stutter nervously, to my confusion

 _'I've called him uncle before. Why is now... oh. **Oh.** I see.'_

A crafty smile stretched across my face. I'd suspected Minato would propose soon-he and Kushina had been dating for four years at that point. Deciding to test my speculation, I whispered a question while Kushina and Father talked.

"So... when are you gonna ask her?"

Minato reddened and began to sweat.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

I decided to be blunt "You know... when are you gonna ask aunt Kushina to marry you?"

Minato practically dissolved into a pile of anxious embarrassment.

 _'Poor guy. He's really worried about this.'_

Deciding to give my unofficial uncle a confidence boost, I spoke up.

"Hey, I think you'll be okay. Aunt Kushina likes you a lot, no matter what. She probably even loves you. Just try not to worry too much about when or how you propose-just do."

Minato blinked, surprised to be getting advice about his love life from a seven year old.

* * *

The rest of the visit progressed nicely-Father wasn't much of a conversationalist though. Most of the talking was between me and Kushina-I'd missed my aunt a lot. Minato just stood thinking, probably about his wife-to-be.

"I learned a new ninjutsu. I haven't tried it on anyone yet though-I'm gonna tomorrow when I spar with Guy."

"Try not to go overboard, tiger! Hey, how're you doing with friends at the moment?" asked Kushina

"Well, I have three: Obito, Guy and Rin. They're all cool, and nice. Guy's kinda goofy, but he's really optimistic, determined and pretty strong. Rin's shy, but she's smart and a good person to talk to. Obito is..." I paused

 _'What am I supposed to say? There are so many words to describe him..'_

"Well?" Kushina asked-she had a suspiciously scheming smirk on her face

"He's... goofy, but not as much as Guy. He's got as much determination as him though. He's really nice to others, he's always late, he's understanding, he likes to spar with me, he always tries hard to be strong, he's endearing, he wears silly goggles, he has nice hair, he likes Rin..."

Suddenly realizing how much I'd said, I stopped with an "Eep!"

Kushina's smirk was now a full-blown grin that just screamed mischief.

"Ohhh... I see. You seem to like your friends-that's good..." Kushina tented her fingers in a Mr Burns fashion

I eyed her nervously "Uhh... aunty Kushina, you're scaring me."

"Oh, am I? Sorry. Hey, why don't you go find one of your friends now, huh? I've gotta talk to your dad about something..." Kushina dropped the grin and ruffled my hair again

While I was being shooed out of the door, I swore I heard Kushina giggle.

* * *

I wandered around, mentally scolding myself for rambling earlier. Deciding to take my mind off it, I went to the training field. Grabbing some shuriken from the pouch on my trousers, I began throwing them at a log. I smiled as my accuracy began to improve gradually-I was really getting to like throwing projectiles.

Moving on to throwing a kunai, I noticed someone out of the corner of my eye. When I saw their fuzzy grey hair, I could tell who it was.

 _'Wait, why is Kakashi coming towards me?'_

No doubt about it-his gaze was focused in my direction. He'd been a genin for some time now-a ninja headband was wrapped around his arm. Since he'd graduated at such a young age, he was not yet in a genin squad. Instead he was apprenticed to Minato until he was able to be placed in a squad.

"Hey."

I heard the word as I was retrieving my kunai from the log. Tugging at it, I replied.

"What?"

"Spar with me."

I pulled the kunai out of the wood, losing my balance and falling over from surprise.

"...why do you want to spar with me?" I asked, getting up and brushing myself off. I wasn't sure whether I _wanted_ to spar with him-don't get me wrong, I did want to fight him to see his skill, but odds were that he'd kick my ass.

"I want to see how skilled you are." he replied in a monotone

 _'Hm. Well... it had to happen someday.'_

"Okay. Let's do it."

Kakashi and I got into battle stances.

 _'It won't hurt to try and beat him..'_

* * *

I was wrong. It did hurt. A lot.

Kakashi was fast-faster than Guy. It took all my taijutsu skill not to be knocked over by his speed. After pushing me back he began throwing shuriken with deadly accuracy-I deflected most with a kunai, but some cut across my skin. Angry, I decided to try out a new strategy. When Kakashi came up close again, I acted as if I was kicking-then threw shuriken at the same time. I was satisfied to see some graze him, using the moment of pain to land a kick.

That was as far as I got though-I was soon lying on the ground, covered in bruises.

"You're better than I expected. But ultimately, you're still weak." was Kakashi's reply-I took it as a compliment

"Ehh. At least in several years time, I can say I fought the legendary Kakashi Hatake and lived." the comment was sincere-sharingan or not he probably _would_ grow up to have a big reputation

The grey-haired genin looked at me quizzically, unable to determine whether I was being sarcastic.

"Uh.. thanks for the battle is what I mean."

Kakashi shrugged and walked off. I didn't bother getting up-I just lay looking at the sky.

 _'Shikamaru would totally dig this.'_

Watching clouds pass by, I thought about recent events in my life. A frown contorted my face as I recalled Genma. We'd formed a mutual dislike of each other from our time in the Academy. We shot each other glares now and then-Genma even spat his senbon at me once. Much as I hated to admit it, he had a good aim. It'd whizzed by my face, a centimeter away from hitting my skin.

 _'He's still a jerk.. I should get him back someday.'_

I poked out my tongue, as if tasting the bitterness of my thoughts. I shifted my mind to something else-something more positive.

 _'I love it here.. everything is so interesting and full of life. The people seem more real, more connected than the ones I used to know long ago. The world that came before.. I can no longer call it my world. **This** is my world now.'_

Looking up at the trees, I took in the peaceful atmosphere. The leaves for which the village was named rustled quietly in the afternoon breeze, some falling to the ground occasionally. I vaguely remembered something Guy had said a long time ago, when he was still just a manifestation of imagination to me.

 _'Old leaves fall from the tree.. but they provide the nutrients for new leaves to grow. Ain't that the truth...'_

The village really did remind me of trees-anchoring roots, a strong trunk, and young leaves that strengthened the tree overall. I sighed softly, wondering where I fit in the grand scheme of things.

 _'..I feel old.'_

* * *

The next day I prepared myself for a sparring session with Guy. I was pumped to try out my new jutsu and see if it would work, using my spare time to run around on the surface of a small pond. Water-walking brought a smile to my face, because it always felt like I was performing the impossible. Even if it was a common technique, it was still pretty awesome.

After splashing around for a bit, I saw a familiar blur racing in my direction. When Guy screeched to a halt, I noticed something-he had got himself a green sleeveless suit.

 _'Ah, looks like Guy's found his signature color.'_

The walking fashion statement approached with his regular sparkly grin. As I was stretching and preparing for combat, Guy greeted me.

"Greetings once again, my eternal rival! After painstakingly searching every clothing store in the village, I have found a color that truly reflects my youthful spirit!" Guy posed dramatically, anime sparkles surrounding his suit.

"It looks good Guy, but... why green?" I asked, curious of his reasoning

"I'm glad you asked. Green is the color of the fresh grass beneath our feet! Green is the color of the leaves our beloved village is named for! Green is the color of life! Green is the color... of YOUTH!" Guy finished his speech with anime tears streaming down his face

 _'Guy would be a good politician. All he talked about was the color green and I already feel inspired.'_

"Youth? So, I guess that means you'll be even tougher now." I replied, getting into a battle stance

"You bet, my spirit is blazing brighter than ever! If I fail this battle, I shall run 200 laps around Konoha backwards as punishment!"

That was another thing Guy had taken to recently-giving himself ridiculous punishments for the slightest failure. He really did seem to have an infinite amount of stamina-the other theory was that he was always chugging coffee like a maniac.

"Guy, you shouldn't strain yourself."

"I _must_ strain myself, how else can I improve?"

"Now come on, let's go!" I grinned, and we pushed off towards each other

* * *

Guy flew at me with a kick, which I barely dodged. I responded by throwing a kunai after him-it grazed his shoulder. He spun around with another kick, which I blocked with my arm. Pushing him off, I tried to hit Guy with a kick. We continued with this back-and-forth taijutsu for a bit, each of us landing a hit or two. Eventually I began to strafe, throwing shuriken as a distraction to prepare for my final move.

Taking a deep breath, I readied myself-I was going to perform two jutsus consecutively for the first time. I gathered chakra in my stomach and spat out a small but fast droplet of water towards Guy.

 _'Water Style: Mouth Shot!'_

The water droplet hit Guy and burst, momentarily stunning him. Moving my hands as fast as I could, I performed the second jutsu.

 _'Water Style: Raging Waves!'_

Water gushed out of my mouth in a large stream, slamming into Guy and washing him away. After a few seconds I stopped the stream, sweating and panting from exertion. I wiped my mouth and glanced around, looking for Guy. I saw the green-clad boy laying in a puddle of water-he gave me a thumbs up followed by a congratulations.

"You have... bested me this time, my eternal rival! After I have recovered, I shall do my punishment!"

I shook my head with a smile-that was Guy for you.

* * *

Later that day I came home with a bottle of special glue. I'd bought it from a craft store-it only became sticky when wet. An idea had struck me that morning-a way to get back at Genma, subtly. Every now and then at the Academy, Genma would leave his senbon on his desk at the end of class-something to do with Imarai thinking it was a hazard. I was going to use the glue on his senbon so that he'd have the thing stuck in his mouth for days.

As I placed the glue down, I idly wondered of a prank to pull on the teacher. The Academy had been particularly boring of late, and I'd been wanting to do a prank someday. Preparing some instant ramen, I hummed to myself as I thought. Then, it came to me.

 _'Why not try one of the classics?'_

* * *

I got up early the next morning, packing my bag for the Academy and racing off towards it. I passed Guy, who was jogging-on his hands. I would've stopped to ask him why he was doing it, but I had to get moving-plus, it was Guy. He could be hopping on one leg balancing a cup of water on his nose and it wouldn't be unusual for him.

I made it to the Academy and was stopped by a teacher.

"Hey, students aren't supposed to be here this early." he said, holding up a hand and blocking my way

"Oh, Imarai-sensei told me to leave this on his desk before class." I replied, holding up a test sheet. My answer was true, for once

"Okay, but don't be long."

I entered the room via the teacher's door and walked up to the big blackboard. Scanning my eyes below it, I spotted what I was looking for.

 _'Aha, bingo!'_

I grabbed the blackboard eraser, which was still dusty with chalk. I got out my glue and squirted some on the erasing end. After that I grabbed one of the stools from behind the desks and moved it next to the teacher's door.

Standing up on the stool, I carefully positioned the eraser on top of the slightly ajar door. Satisfied my job was done, I got down and put the stool back. Next, I walked to Genma's desk-sure enough, his senbon still sat there. A look of disgust twisted my face as I realized it probably had spit on it. Nonetheless, I got out my glue and carefully covered the senbon in it. After rubbing my hands together fiendishly, I left the building with an impish grin on my face.

 _'Thanks for the inspiration, Naruto.'_

* * *

I wandered around the village for a bit, waiting for time to pass. I bumped into Obito talking to Rin, which was an uncommon occurrence.

"...yeah, I'm gonna train to become a medic-nin when I graduate." Rin said

"So.. that means you'll be able to heal people, right?" Obito asked-a light blush dusted his cheeks as it always did when he talked to Rin

"Yeah, I want to be able to help the village by making people better!" Rin smiled and Obito's blush darkened

A warm feeling spread within me as I approached. I was looking forward to letting my friends in on my schemes-but not all of the warmth stemmed from that. I was just happy to be around them-Obito especially. I'd been feeling happier than usual when I talked to him-I'd assumed it was because we were such good friends at the time. Perhaps I was just hoping it wasn't what I suspected.

"Hey guys, what's up?" I interjected

The pair turned to me and Obito tried to shake off his flustered embarrassment.

"Hi, Yoku. We were just talking about what we're gonna do when we become shinobi." said Rin

"Speaking of becoming shinobi... today's gonna be preeetty interesting at the Academy," I hinted, impish grin returning to my face

"What do you mean? Are we gonna go on a class trip or something?" wondered Obito obliviously

"Nope... *snigger* When Imarai-sensei comes in, just sit back and watch the magic unfold."

"Yoku, are you doing something that'd get you in trouble?" Rin asked with concern

"Mmm, no... because I won't get in trouble if I don't get caught." I replied with a wink

"So... what did you do?" asked Obito curiously

"Hey, don't encourage her Obito!" scolded Rin, causing Obito to blush and rub his neck sheepishly

Watching the exchange, my eyelid twitched in a fleeting moment of annoyance.

 _'...?'_

* * *

As we filed into the classroom and sat down, I jiggled at my desk in anticipation. My eyes followed Genma as he sat down, then, as I guessed, stuck the senbon in his mouth. I did my best to suppress a laugh and a grin.

 _'Let's see how you like having that stupid senbon hanging out of your mouth when you can't take it out...'_

Genma glared at me, wondering what I was sniggering about. I didn't return it for once, sure I would give myself away. Obito was glancing at me with a raised eyebrow-Rin was biting her lip and twiddling her thumbs nervously.

After a few minutes, the moment of truth came. I calmed myself and tried to act inconspicuous as I heard Imarai's footsteps along the corridor.

-creak-

*Thump*

Silence filled the air as the gluey eraser slowly slid down Imarai's head to land with a small splat on the floor. The teacher had an expression of suppressed anger on his face-his mouth was a flat line and his tired eyelids twitched. He took a deep breath, then let it out. Imarai picked up the eraser and walked to the blackboard, the eyes of most students following his movements. He placed it in the usual spot, then walked to the podium and began the lesson as if nothing had happened.

 _'I'm impressed. Hats off to you, Imarai-sensei. Hopefully he doesn't look into who did it. I wonder when Genma's gonna notice his senbon...'_

Imarai went through the curriculum as normal-first some history (we were talking about current events-the Third Great Ninja War was looming) then literature (we were writing essays on the Five Great Nations). It was in the last lesson, math, that Genma finally realized his senbon was stuck.

We were writing down equations involving shinobi formations. I was glancing around as I often did when bored, and was amused to see Genma tugging at his senbon. It was stuck to his lower lip by the looks of it. Genma pulled at it with both hands, a vein of anger on his forehead.

Unable to resist it, I met his eyes and poked my tongue out at him. He gave me such a withering look in return that I was a little afraid for my life.

* * *

It was the new year, the month of January. I'd be turning 9 in a few months' time. I was running to the training field alongside Obito, a grin plastered on my face as was now the norm when I was in his presence.

"I'm gonna beat you, Obito!" I taunted as we ran past a few other kids

"No way, not this time!" he replied, picking up the pace

I did the same-I could see the gate of the training fields coming up.

 _'Yes, I'm gonna-'_

My thoughts of triumph were cut short as I tripped, sending up a cloud of dust and causing me to face-plant. I grazed my cheek as I slid along the ground, stopping just short of the gate.

"Ouch." I said into the earth

I pushed myself up and rubbed my cheek, walking towards a grinning Obito.

"Told ya I'd win!" he said triumphantly

"Pfft, you wouldn't have if I hadn't tripped!" I replied jokingly. Despite my loss, I couldn't help but mirror Obito's expression

"I would-I'm too awesome to lose!" he pointed to himself in a cocky pose-normally I'd have responded with a friendly insult, but something else came out of my mouth instead

"Yeah..."

Both of us froze. I faked a cough and hurriedly diverted the conversation.

"U-uh, yeah no. Cmon', let's go!" I ran towards the sparring area, Obito following after me

 _'It's getting worse...'_

* * *

We stood facing each other in a typical battle stance. I had a few shuriken in one hand, while Obito had a kunai.

I nodded and we began.

I jumped backwards, throwing my shuriken in an arc. Obito deflected two of them, but one cut across his sleeve. He flipped back and threw his kunai, which whizzed by my shoulder. I realized too late that it was a distraction-Obito shot a fireball at me.

I managed to doge the full impact, but my jacket got singed and was lit on fire on the left arm. I quickly smothered the small flame and formed a jutsu of my own, taking advantage of Obito's depleted stamina.

 _'Water Style: Mouth shot!'_

The projectile hit Obito in the face, giving me time to run up with a punch. I was aiming for his cheek, but he shook his head to clear off the water and my fist hit something else.

-CRACK-

I winced as my fist impacted Obito's goggles. The force of it caused cracks to spiderweb across the visor-a shard of it fell out onto the ground. Obito was knocked backwards, while I stumbled and clutched my wrist.

 _'Split knuckles.. damn.'_

Hissing with pain, I ran over to Obito to see if he was okay. His goggles were busted-the visor was badly cracked and pieces of it were already missing. He got up and pulled them off along with his ear protectors.

"Aww man..." he sighed with a pout as he examined his goggles

"Are you alright? I'm sorry about the goggles..." I apologized sheepishly, trying to ignore the bleeding of my hand

"It's fine, I can-whoa, are _you_ okay? Look at your hand!" he exclaimed, pointing to it

"Ehh, I'll just bandage it.." I waved him off

I was distracted from the pain-by his _face._ Even though it was a bit dirty and scuffed, looking at it gave me a feeling of familiarity and happiness. I subconsciously decided it then-I _really_ liked his face.

 _'The round shape, that spiky hair, those big eyes with such a plethora of emotions behind them...'_

A smile stretched itself across my face and I blushed- _blushed._

I guess Obito thought I was dazed from my injury, as his concern grew and he frowned.

"Hey, you're not going to faint are you?"

"From this? Nah, I'll be fine. Anyway, you win. That fireball you got me with was pretty good." I waved him off and tried to suppress the blood flowing to my face

"You think so? I'm trying to make it better..."

"Yeah, for sure. If you keep improving it, it'll get twice as powerful!" a radiant grin lit up Obito's face, and I failed to get rid of my blush. I liked making him happy.

* * *

Later at home, my head thudded onto the dinner table with a sigh as I thought about my feelings towards Obito. I'd been hoping it wasn't what I'd thought, but the signs were becoming too obvious to ignore. The happiness and nervousness I felt around him, the odd words, the blushing, how I liked his face, his voice and everything about him-no doubt about it, I was crushing on him. The thought made me feel melancholy, and I pounded a fist on the table. My hurt fist.

"Ow!" I shot up and hissed in pain, shaking the bandaged hand. Thinking again, I settled for leaning back on my chair and looking up at the ceiling.

 _'I'm supposed to **save** Obito. A crush could be a bad distraction... besides, he likes Rin anyway. It's not like it could go anywhere..'_

Grumbling, I grabbed some instant noodles. I wasn't feeling up to making them properly, so I settled for just spreading butter on the rectangular chunk. I thought about my future as I munched on the semi-dry snack.

 _'I'm so screwed...'_

* * *

 **Hey, end of another long-ass chapter. Sorry for taking so long with this one. I apologize if my writing of a crush is awkward-I'm still new to it. Looks like the second genre is finally beginning, plus some more character development. Next chapter sees Yoku being given something by her father, Academy graduation and more emotional antics. Happy stuff aside, there's another depressing occurrence too. Leave a fav, follow or review if you want and see you next chapter!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello again, here is chapter 7! In it, Yoku is given something by her dad relating to her kekkei-genkai, another (probably unsurprising) tragedy and some more emotional stuff. Yoku graduates the Academy along with some others too-you guys were probably getting impatient for that to happen lol. Also, regarding team formations... read on and see ;)**

 **Thanks to all who left a fav, follow or review, I really appreciate it!**

 **lizy2000: Glad you liked it, just wait and see what happens**

 **RadioPoisoning: Thanks for pointing that out, I must have misinterpreted the wiki info lol. Plus I have a lack of common sense sometimes, I'll correct it. Yes, I'm trying to keep character appearances and interactions balanced.**

 **Tanner Clark: D'awww, you make me blush. Yeah, crushes like Yoku's would be awkward as hell, not to mention frustrating.**

Recently, I'd been thinking about the Chakra Leech Jutsu. Although I loathed the idea of using it, I was wondering if I could somehow manipulate it so that I could use it in a more benevolent way.

 _'If I can get chakra to flow into me, can I get it to flow into others somehow?'_

Tapping my fingers on my desk, I pondered.

 _'If I could just... divert the flow...'_

An idea came to me and I flung my arms out with a cry of triumph.

" _Eureka!_ "

Most of the class turned to face me at my outburst. With an embarrassed cough I sat back down, avoiding the angry look from my teacher.

Speaking of Imarai, he'd taken to wearing a bandanna. From what I could guess, that glue I stuck in his hair got wet and caused him to rip some out. The bandanna was probably to cover up the missing patch.

Trying to melt back into anonymity, I wrote down some notes about strategies useful in the field.

 _'Man, I can really feel the weight of the situation now. This war isn't exactly in our favor at the moment, either...'_

The Third Great Ninja War had been raging for some time now, devastating the Five Nations. One of the most concerning effects of it was the lack of manpower-shinobi were losing their lives rapidly, causing a shortage of soldiers. My father was barely at home anymore, always off fighting. I'd heard they were going to start drafting children as well.

 _'Not much different from the Warring States period, huh...'_

My troubled thoughts ceased when I noticed Obito asking me something.

I lifted my head from my book "What?"

"That thing you said before... what was it?" I turned to meet his eyes, a part of me glowing in triumph. Since I'd accidentally smashed his goggles, he'd ceased to wear them-this left his best features unblocked.

"Eureka? Uh, it's a little like 'Deja Vu.'" I replied

"So then, does it mean the same thing?" he quirked an eyebrow

"No, actually. You say 'Eureka!' when you suddenly get a brilliant idea." I was trying to focus on the conversation instead of his eyes

"...what was your idea?"

The warmth drained from me, replaced by a fearful uncertainty.

"Um... it was something to do with chakra. Something like medical ninjutsu. If my idea works, I might show you someday..." I trailed off, reluctant to continue

Despite how much I trusted Obito, I was fearful of revealing my kekkei-genkai.

 _'He and Rin reacted fearfully when they noticed I'd killed the cat, and they didn't even know what I was doing. What if I tell Obito and he becomes afraid of me? I'm like some kind of freak...'_

I turned my head back to my book, sticking my tongue out at it in a childish manner.

 _'If I could just store some chakra in containers for absorption..._

* * *

When I got home to find Father eating some sashimi, I decided to tell him about my idea.

"Father?" he turned his head to me but kept eating

I launched right into my question, albeit nervously "About the Chakra Leech Jutsu... is there a way to somehow direct the flow of regenerative energy to someone else?"

Father's eyes returned to his meal and he responded "No."

"Oh, um. Well, I actually have an idea of a way to do it. Maybe." Father's eyes flicked to me and I took this as a signal to continue

"Mother was an Uzumaki, right? So that means I have Uzumaki blood within me. I've read about their traits, and one of them is the ability to transfer healing chakra to others. This is done by the receiver biting the giver and sucking out their chakra. It can be dangerous to use too often though." Father paused, an eyebrow raised

"When I asked Mother about before she passed, she said it'd be a very bad idea for me to try it. She said that since my genes were diluted by yours, my chakra would deplete very quickly if it was to be used to heal others. So, I can't heal people using my own chakra. But with the Chakra Leech Jutsu, I can absorb chakra from other places." I avoided looking at my father, proceeding with caution

"My idea is, what if, while I was absorbing chakra from something, someone could bite around the entry point and suck out that instead of my own chakra?" I finished quietly, dreading the response to come

Father had finished his meal and was regarding me silently. Realizing he wasn't going to speak, I asked a final question

"I want to see if it works, but I don't want to be sucking chakra out of living creatures. Could I absorb chakra from a scroll or something like that?"

Father stood up and I gulped.

"What you're saying could be dangerous, but.. I do have a way for you to test your theory."

* * *

Father took me into his room. It was a little dusty due to lack of use, since he didn't stick around much then. He walked to the wardrobe and pulled out a trunk; I sneezed as he blew the dust off of it. Father opened it up, revealing three small jugs, a scroll and some sort of pendant. The jugs and scroll were a faded cobalt color-the pendant was a red diamond-shaped stone on a steel chain.

"I used to use this stuff before I came here-let me show you." Father picked up one of the jugs and handed it to me

"These can be used to store chakra. If you carry them around, you can absorb some if you need to heal. Granted you can't seal much into them, so be careful you conserve the chakra and don't use it all at once. I've sealed some of my own chakra into these, so you can use them to test that idea of yours."

"What are those for?" I asked, pointing to the scroll and pendant

"The scroll acts like one of those little containers, but you can seal much more chakra into it. It's an emergency supply-I wouldn't use it unless you really need to. As for this... I hope you'll never need to use it." Father regarded the pendant with disdain

"Why?"

"This pendant isn't the only one of it's kind. They act as a disguise-simply wearing it and activating it with chakra will give you an alternate appearance and voice. It also modifies your chakra signature to some extent. Using it will drain your chakra every so often, but unless deactivated or deprived of chakra it will maintain the disguise. I used this before I came to the village-after our clan started being hunted down, we created these to hide our identities."

Father fastened the pendant around his neck. After a few seconds, his appearance changed. He now had straight brown hair and hazel eyes. His skin was tanned, his features rougher. His clothes remained, but he looked like a stranger.

"You see?" his voice was different too-deeper

Father unfastened the pendant and placed it back in the trunk, the disguise vanishing. He then passed me the other two jugs.

"Here, hang onto these for now. Use and refill them if you need to, just be careful. You're still not in complete control of the jutsu-use it sparingly."

I nodded, excited to be a bit more optimistic about the Chakra Leech Jutsu.

* * *

A little over a week later, I received the news that Father was dead. I'd been sent a letter-it told me that Father had been killed in battle. The war had been taking it's toll recently, but that was the first time I could really feel it personally. On one level however, I was not surprised. Father was not the man he used to be-heck, with how much he'd been away I was _expecting_ him to die on a mission.

Nonetheless, I still felt the pain. I was now alone in my house for good. There was money left in a bank for me so I'd be okay for food, and I had lived alone in my old life so I was not unfamiliar to the concept. I didn't _like_ being by myself though.

To distract myself from this new emptiness, I focused on controlling my Chakra Leech Jutsu. Using the containers I was able to practice it without fear of harming anything-but it was annoying having to refill them. I still hadn't attempted my healing others idea-I was afraid it would end badly and harm whoever I tried using it on.

I'd been hoping to have Father buried, but his body wasn't recovered. Despite this, a grave was made for him in the cemetery-I visited it every so often along with Mother's.

After training some more, I reached a milestone in my life-graduating from the Academy.

* * *

Most of my class were taking the written test of the Graduation Exam. It was a compilation of all the basic curriculums, along with explanations of strategies, formations and various jutsu effects. We were in a small classroom, being overseen by a couple chunin. The test was boring, but not too difficult. After the class was finished, we were called one-by-one into a room for the jutsu part of the exam.

When I was called, I was relatively calm. The technique was a clone jutsu-I'd practiced it and it was alright. I entered the compact room, facing Imarai along with some other teachers-plus The Third Hokage.

 _'...he's only middle-aged at this point, right? Or... uh... anyway, he still looks about the same as I remember him-'cept his hair's not gray yet.'_

Shaking off my pondering, I took a breath and performed the necessary handsigns. After a couple seconds, a clone appeared with a poof next to me. I looked away from it-an exact copy of myself always unnerved me a little. My mind drifted to rememberance of an anime episode where Naruto's clones revolted against him.

Sweat formed on my face as I awaited my grading. Hiruzen simply nodded, signifying I'd passed. Nonetheless I held my breath, until I was presented with a forehead protector. Looking down at the fabric and metal in my hands was surreal. To me the headbands were something just out of reach-cool, signifying someone devoted to a cause, but I'd never end up wearing one. When I tied it around my head I was filled with such elation that I skipped- _skipped_ out of the room. In front of the teachers and Hokage. I still feel embarrassed just thinking about it.

* * *

After standing around outside for a couple minutes with the other graduates, I saw Obito race past me with a whoosh. Judging by the look on his face, he was distressed. I began to panic.

 _'He's meant to graduate now, right? I better go see what's up..'_

I ran in Obito's direction, leaving behind my fellow confused genins.

I stopped when I saw the boy I was chasing sitting on a bench. He looked melancholy, more depressed than I'd seen him before. This rubbed off on me too-I'd always hated seeing Obito sad. Now that I cared about him so much, I felt like his emotions were connected to mine in some way, cheesy as that sounds. As I approached, Obito looked up at me-and my headband. His eyes became downcast.

 _'I've made him feel even worse. Idiot!'_

"Hey..." I started, sitting next to him. He didn't respond

"What's up? I hate to see you sad, Obito." the Uchiha's eyes swerved to me, his expression lifting a bit

"I... failed..." he said quietly

"..." the words carried such emotion-they hurt me

"Obito... you can't have failed. I _know_ you didn't. It looked like you just ran out of there-did you stay and get your evaluation?"

"No.. but I just know I failed. My clone took forever to appear.." his hands clenched into fists-he looked like he was going to cry

Steeling myself with courage, I did something instinctive-I hugged him. Or, half-hugged since we were sitting. Trying as hard as I could to not melt into a puddle of embarrassment, I encouraged him.

"Hey, if your clone appears formed, you pass and-" I froze when I saw Imarai coming towards us

I hurriedly separated myself from Obito, smothering my cheeks as if to get rid of the blood in them.

"There you are! Why'd you run off like that?" asked our teacher as he came to a halt

"I'm s-sorry.." Obito stuttered, getting off the bench

"I was looking all over for you... here you go!" Imarai took something out of his pocket-a forehead protector

Obito peered at it hesitantly "Don't tell me I..."

"Congratulations! As of today, you're a fully fledged shinobi!" Imarai unceremoniously tossed the headband to Obito, who caught it

The boy looked at it for a second, before whooping and jumping in the air.

"I did it!"

"See? I told you you passed!" I got up and gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder

"But! The trials of a genin are only just beginning for you two..." Imarai said seriously-we stopped fooling around

"You'll be placed in a three-man squad with a jonin leader. You'll complete missions as a team." the atmosphere was suddenly rather grave

 _'Ugh. You ruined the mood, Imarai-sensei...'_

* * *

I was sitting in a classroom, at the start of the graduation ceremony. Obito wasn't there-late, most likely. Imarai was about to announce the teams, making me depressed.

 _'Obito's with Kakashi and Rin, so where will I end up?'_

"We want each squad to have a balance of strength and ability, so that's how we pick them. I will now announce the three-man squads.."

I sat rigid at my desk with anticipation. Names flew by, some recognizable and some not. When I heard Guy's name, I listened in.

"Team Choza: Might Guy, Genma Shiranui and Rin Nohara."

 _'...what?'_

"Uhm, sensei, could you repeat that?" I asked, certain I misheard

"Okay, Yoku. Might Guy, Genma Shiranui and Rin Nohara."

 _'But... Rin's not meant to be with **them!** '_

Now I was confused. Some things were changed, perhaps thanks to me or perhaps not. Maybe that's how I ended up with _my_ placement...

* * *

After the ceremony for graduation, I waited outside the Academy building for Obito. I was unsurprised by his tardiness, having accepted it as the norm. After all, he was never late on purpose-he just ended up helping people on his way and thus delayed himself.

I smiled as I saw the boy on my mind appear, running frantically forward and kicking up a cloud of dust. As he got closer, the banner above me which read "Graduation Ceremony" was let down with a rustle.

I winced as I saw him trip and slide along the ground-I could practically feel every second, having experienced the accident myself. He stopped just short of my feet, groaning in pain. With a blush, I offered him a hand and helped him up.

"You're late, Obito. Graduation's over." I said, causing him to sigh

"Well, you see, there was this old lady.."

"You seem to have a habit of running into old people, huh?" I quipped

"They've been ambushing me lately." he replied with a pout

"Hey, don't be depressed! I've got an idea-cmon'!" suppressing my nervousness, I grabbed his hand again and led him into the Academy building

* * *

We stood in the assembly building, now empty and silent. The floors were mopped, the chairs all neatly stacked against the wall-a far cry from the earlier noise and bustle. A ladder was to my left, near the banner waiting to be taken down. I was facing Obito on the stage in front of the central stand. In one hand I held his graduation certificate-in the other, behind my back, was a small brown package.

Clearing my throat, I began my own version of the graduation ceremony. I started with a snobby voice, making Obito snicker.

"In my hand I hold the graduation certificate of Obito Uchiha. This document certifies that you have graduated from the Hidden Leaf Ninja Academy."

Smiling and dropping the fake voice, I launched into the congratulatory bit.

"You are commended for persevering through the rain and wind to reach this milestone! Heck, you went through hailstones and gales and emerged victorious!"

Suprised to hear sniffling, I glanced up from the sheet to see Obito with an emotional expression. He looked adorable and I found it hard to shift my gaze from him.

 _'Focus...'_

"Here, congrats!" I said gently, handing him the paper

"Yoku..." the tearful boy wiped his face

"Aaand, formalities and official stuff aside..."

I moved my other hand in front of me, holding the package with both hands

"For all your determination and improvement... and cause' I kinda owe you these.." I blushed sheepishly

"I present you with a new pair of goggles!" I handed him the package

"Thank you.." my blush darkened and my insides turned to mush

 _'Come on, keep it together...'_

"Nobody's here to watch, but this makes me happier than receiving it from that old Hokage!" Obito had a look of absolute joy on his face

"Aww... g-gee.." I sputtered, unable to form a coherent sentence

"Hey, is it alright if I.." he gestured to the package

"Sure, go ahead.."

He opened it, grabbing the goggles. As he put them on, I regretted getting them. His face, the apple of my eye, was now covered again.

 _'Aw man, I remember why I didn't like them now..'_ I thought with a pout

"Hey, we'll be assigned to three-man squads and go on missions now, right?" he asked

"Y-yeah."

"So, have the teams already been announced?"

"Uh-huh. Y-you're.. on.. um..." I wanted to slap myself for all the stuttering

"Wait... we aren't on different teams are we?" Obito wondered, confusing my embarrassment for sadness

 _'Come on, dammit! Form an actual **sentence!** '_

"*cough* You're on a team w-with.." clearing my throat again, I finished my sentence as confidently as I could

"You're stuck with me!"

"No way!"

"Yup. Oh, and sorry it's me instead of Rin... she isn't the third member." I replied, a hint of bitterness in my tone

"Hey, that's okay. I'm glad to have one of my friends at least. Um, who's the third member then?" I felt a pang at the hint of disappointment in his voice, but continued

"None other than the Leaf's own prodigy, Kakashi Hatake."

"WHAT?!"

* * *

I stood waiting next to my new teammate Kakashi and my new sensei Minato. My outfit was also new, since my old one was worn and small. My pants were standard dark grey trousers, pouches sewn onto them and a kunai strapped on one leg for emergencies. I wore a zipped-up black jacket over a grey shirt-the jacket had the red Uzumaki symbol on the top left of the front instead of the back. My forehead protector was tied around my head as was the norm.

Our team had been told to meet in the training fields, presumably for introductions and the like. Obito was late again. I was sitting, practicing handsigns. Minato was in a casual position, one hand in his pocket. Kakashi had his arms folded and a look of annoyance on his face.

 _'Blegh. Gonna have to get used to this new setup-Kakashi's okay aside from his rule obsession, though Obito's tardiness could be a bit of a problem now that we're gonna be going on missions. I've gotta think about what's to come and do my best to work with them.. Minato will probably hold us together.'_

I stood up and gave a little wave as I saw Obito approach us.

"You're finally here. You must be Obito," said Minato when the Uchiha boy skidded to a halt

"..barely made it.." he panted

"You're really late." said Kakashi. I could sympathize with his impatience on some level

 _'If I hadn't gotten used to his lateness I'd probably be a little ticked off too.'_

"I'm Minato, your leader from today. Glad to meet you." said Minato, introducing himself

Obito, now recovered from his running, gave Minato a thumbs up and a "Yeah!" in response. I smiled at the cheesiness of it.

"Anyway, let's have our first training session together."

"R-right!" Obito responded and moved to stand between Kakashi and I

"In this session, I want to see your teamwork!" Minato said-my hopes plummeted

 _'Aww crap. I've never really fought alongside anybody, just sparred against them. Obito's impulsive, Kakashi's a loner, not to mention those two together are like oil and water. How am I gonna make this work?'_

As if hearing my thoughts, Obito and Kakashi shot glares at each other.

"Ah, teamwork?" I piped up

"Mm-hm. And the exercise will be this..."

When I heard the jingle of bells, my hopes died.

 _'The bell test. I forgot about the fucking bell test.'_

* * *

We began in the forest, giving us some cover. I tried to think of a strategy as Kakashi charged towards Minato.

 _'Let's see... Minato's very fast, so he'll be hard to catch. My syrup trap jutsu would be too slow to be of any use. Maybe if we could corner him somehow..'_

Kakashi's attacks were fast, but Minato was faster. He blocked a barrage of shuriken and flashed away when Obito shot a fireball. Speaking of which, Obito's fireballs had gotten pretty impressive compared to how small they used to be. I threw a kunai in Minato's direction of teleportation, but it was swiftly dodged. Glancing around for a good perch, I spotted an unused log trap-an idea sprung to my mind. Throwing some shuriken to keep Minato occupied, I called to my teammates.

"Obito! Kakashi! I've got an idea!"

The boys turned their heads to me-Obito jumped back to land next to me, Kakashi dropped from above.

"Okay, Minato-sensei is fast, right? But instead of trying to slow him down, we should box him in. That log trap over there-" I gestured to it quickly

"-can be useful. We'd get Minato-sensei in the path of it first. Then Obito, you'll shoot a fireball towards him. At the same time I'll release the trap from behind and use my water bullet jutsu from one side. Kakashi, while he's occupied by the attacks, you dive in the open side and go for the bells." after I finished, Obito protested

"Why is it Kakashi that gets the-"

"There's no time to argue Obito! Like it or not, Kakashi's the fastest of us and the one with the best chance of surprising Minato-sensei. So, you guys with me?"

The boys nodded; we began.

First, Kakashi started by pushing Minato with taijutsu. I threw kunai and shuriken to help with it-Obito did the same. When I noticed Minato was almost in the path of the trap, I jumped to stand by the trigger rope. Kakashi saw this and backed off too-Obito continued attacking.

"Now!"

Obito's hands were a blur-I cut the rope just as the fireball was forming. Then, I formed handsigns as I jumped to the left.

 _'Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu!'_

A stream of water flew towards Minato-that was Kakashi's signal.

Said boy leapt toward our sensei in the confusion. His fingers grazed the bells-he managed to grab one before Minato teleported away. Kakashi jumped back in alarm, barely dodging the colliding attacks.

"Nice! Now we just gotta get the other one.." I said, tired but still moving after my sensei

* * *

In the end we were all sweaty, tired, dirty and beat up. Kakashi held one bell, the only one of us still standing up.

"You all pass!" exclaimed Minato with a smile

I managed a half-hearted fist pump.

"We'll start our first mission tomorrow." continued our sensei; I was too tired to wonder what it would be

"That's more like it!" Obito exclaimed energetically, flinging his arms in the air

 _'How can he be so enthusiastic? I just want to sleep.'_

"I'll show you what I've got in a real battle!"

"Actually, this first mission is _inside_ the village. Like finding a lost pet or item." Minato corrected

"What?! Those are just odd jobs!" Obito complained

"A mission is just a mission. If you succeed, I'll assign you more important missions."

"Personally, I'm glad we're starting off small. Going straight to fighting twenty enemy ninja would be a drag." I said, my lazy side showing

Obito looked at me with an anime face of disbelief.

"B-but fighting a bunch of enemy ninja would be way more exciting than doing chores!"

"Fighting and killing isn't all fun and games Obito. We might even be fighting in the war. Plus, if we went up against a bunch of powerful, experienced ninja right now we'd get creamed." I replied in a grave tone. Obito quieted and folded his arms in a pout

"Kakashi, you've been on many missions already. This may seem boring, but do your best anyway." Minato said to Kakashi, who inclined his head

Obito perked up and issued Kakashi a challenge "Okay Kakashi, I challenge you!"

Kakashi turned his head to Obito but didn't say anything

"Let's see who can complete more missions."

"That's stupid. Do what you want."

"You chicken?" Obito smirked and quirked his eyebrow

"What did you say?" Kakashi responded, shooting a glare at Obito

 _'Just like Marty Mcfly, Kakashi.'_

* * *

"...it's not here." I heard Kakashi say near me as I ducked under a shed

"It's not here either." I responded, having found nothing in my search

We met up on top of a roof.

"Found anything?" I asked my teammate

"No."

"Geez, finding a lost pet isn't easy. Especially in a place with so many nooks and crannies..." I groaned, anime expression of sulking on my face

"But if we don't succeed at this, our team will never be sent on real missions." he replied; I sighed

"..By the way, where's Obito?" Kakashi wondered, glancing around

"He went off by himself to look." I answered

"Is he serious about beating me?" Kakashi asked, face shifting in confusion

"Kakashi, it's Obito. When he's determined to beat someone, he means it. You're his rival also, so I guess that adds to the competition." Kakashi glanced at me with a raised eyebrow

* * *

Elsewhere, Obito was asking around the village about the missing cat, mostly talking to the elderly people he knew. After a while, he got a lead and managed to track down the wayward feline.

* * *

I chuckled when I saw Obito with a grumpy-looking cat in one arm. He was a little scratched up, indicating our target was annoyed at having been found. Despite the scratches, the boy had a bright grin on his face. In his other hand was a purple bag of some sort. I was standing with Minato and Kakashi, all of us on a small bridge.

"I found a lost pet and a lost item, thanks to help from the grannies. I even got some treats!"

"Nice one, Obito. Looks like the old ladies are paying you back for your chivalrous deeds." I said, causing Obito's face to brighten. I failed to suppress a blush

"Well, it's true; One good deed deserves another." remarked Minato

"How's that, Kakashi?" Obito said, triumphant at besting his rival

Kakashi stiffened for a second, then looked away.

* * *

 _Later, in the Hokage's office.._

"All the odd jobs in the village were completed in a single day.." muttered Hiruzen as he crossed out the last box on a scroll

"Of course, it's because I'm the one who's gonna become the Hokage! This is no problem." responded Obito confidently

"Lord Hokage, I believe this team is more skilled than we thought." said Minato

"You're right. Kakashi already has a lot of field experience. Perhaps I shall send them along with you on your mission tomorrow."

All of us let out surprised exclamations.

"On Minato-sensei's mission?" I wondered

"Is this a real mission?" Obito asked with excitement

"Yes. And the client requested Minato specifically."

 _'Minato is skilled as hell and super fast. If the client requested him specifically, this mission could be tough.'_

"It's a C-Rank mission."

 _'Hmm, maybe it won't be so bad.'_

"Although the risk is low, I'd be lying if I said there was absolutely none." Minato added

 _'Unsurprising.'_

"I was planning to send you to do more odd jobs around the village while Minato was away. But there are no more requests, and I can't just let you wait around." Hiruzen said

 _'Aw man. A day off would've been nice.'_

"Yes!" Obito pumped his fist in the air

"Well, this is our first real mission then." I said, nervous

Minato turned his head to us "I'm counting on all of you from tomorrow."

We each responded with a nod and a "Yes, sir!"

* * *

Kakashi, Obito and I walked along the corridor after the meeting. Obito was behind Kakashi and I, arms behind his head in a relaxed pose and a cocky look on his face. Kakashi had his eyes closed and hands in his pockets. I was walking lazily, one hand in my pocket.

"You should be grateful to me Kakashi. I'm the reason there are no odd jobs left!" said Obito-Kakashi bowed his head in annoyance

"Obito, quit being cocky!" I scolded-Obito sweatdropped and let his arms fall by his sides

Turning my head to the grumpy grey-haired genin, I spoke "Kakashi, you don't need to get upset with him. He's been worried about you for quite a while-he thinks you've changed." Kakashi looked at me, opening one eye

This was true-Obito had been concerned about Kakashi's change in personality after his father's death. Like the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke, Obito wanted to reach out to Kakashi and find what troubled him.

"Wh-what're you talking about Yoku?" exclaimed Obito as he ran to stand in front of me

"Well, it is true. And you always train hard to catch up to him."

"Do not! I'm training to be the Hokage..." Obito huffed and turned away with an embarrassed blush

Kakashi was looking at us from the side-I was unsure what his expression meant.

"Look, why don't you guys shake hands? We're on the same team now, might as well make it semi-official." I suggested

The pair of boys turned away from each other grumpily.

"I'm not shaking hands with this guy!" Obito said. Kakashi was frowning.

"We've got a long way to go.." I sighed and grabbed their hands, causing them to turn their heads in surprise

"I've got a responsibility to this team. So for now, I'll connect you two."

For a moment or two we stood there, hands and fates linked.

* * *

 **Done and done! Again, sorry for taking so long. Yoku and co. have FINALLY graduated and will move onto missions. I decided to just swap around Rin instead of going with the route of a four-man squad. It makes things easier down the road, plus it's correct. I killed off Torei without much drama, 'cause I figured I should add some normalcy. Yoku is saddened by this, but saw it coming. Next chapter sees Team Minato going on their first real mission, plus their photo-taking and some rivalry. They'll also get info on the Chunin exams at the end. Leave a fav, follow or review if you want and see you next chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello there, readers! I present to you chapter 8, my favorite number. Yoku and her teammates go on their first real mission and get their team photo taken. Afterwards, Yoku tries out her healing method and assesses her friendships. I apologize for my lateness, I'm juggling multiple things at the moment. This story is one of the foremost on my list though. This chapter is mostly dialogue by the way, so there may be some mistakes since I was writing so much of it. Thanks to everyone who left a fav, follow or review, your support fuels my determination!**

 **lizy2000: Yup, their team is now official!**

 **RadioPoisoning: That's always struck me as awkward, plus it would be hard to write with**

 **DarkDust27: Yeah, those three are connected from now on.**

 **Love Stories00: Don't worry, there's plenty of that in this chapter ;)**

 **Akari-chann-Uchiha: Glad you like it!**

 **Guest: All I can say without spoiling stuff is... that 2nd genre is there for a reason :)**

 **Tanner Clark: It's easier to write if it sticks to canon more, plus 4 is too many people to write at once**

 **On a different topic, I have posted the oneshot I mentioned at the beginning of chapter 5! It fleshes out the character "Dr. Katto" in this story a bit, so check it out if you want. It's rated M and is quite gory though, so I don't recommend reading it if you're squeamish.**

 _In the Land of Water..._

Two men stood in a white-grey room. It was lit, revealing a mess of crimson and mush in one area. The air was permeated with the tang of metal.

"Doctor Katto, sir?" a kiri-nin stood bowed before a man clad in a labcoat

"What is it? You know that I am busy at this hour.." replied Doctor Katto, pulling off rubber gloves dripping with red

"Sir, we have retrieved the body of the specimen we failed to capture some time ago.."

Katto froze, holding one glove half-off his left hand. He turned his head to the man before him and his steely eyes glinted

"Where is it?" the question was simple-but it's implications were grave

Akadi smirked. He got up, then waved someone in from the corridor. Kada entered the room carrying a scroll, frowning at her smug partner as she passed him. Kneeling before Katto, Kada unrolled the scroll and undid the seal. A body poofed into existence seconds after.

It was a man, wearing the uniform of a Leaf ninja. His sandy hair was matted with blood, brown eyes glazed and empty. His throat was slashed open, the blood around it still wet. It was clear he'd been killed quickly and precisely.

Kada grabbed a beaker, stirring rod and a bottle of liquid from the bag on her back, presenting them to Katto carefully. She blinked with surprise as the middle-aged man snatched them from her almost feverishly.

Katto placed the beaker down on a bench next to his operating table-it was still sticky with crimson in some spots. He poured the bottled liquid into it, then pulled out an empty syringe from his coat. Katto knelt and stuck it into the body, extracting his blood. His movements were fluid, careful, as if nothing else existed but the task at hand. Kada and Akadi watched him with silent fear and fascination as he squirted blood into the beaker and stirred it. The mixture turned orange.

"Positive..." he whispered in disbelief

The pair of kiri-nin became nervous when the doctor remained still for several seconds. Kada nudged Akadi, prompting him to speak.

"S-sir...?" Akadi wasn't usually one to stutter-but the room and the man residing in it held an unsettling aura

"You two may leave. I have much to do... yes... much to do..." Katto replied, more to himself than to his subordinates. He pulled back on his bloody gloves and set about clearing his stations

Some of Akadi's confidence returned as he relaxed "Sir, will we get a reward for-"

"Do _not_ interrupt me. Leave, now." Katto said sharply-Akadi skittered out of the room, followed by Kada

* * *

We were finally on our first real mission. We had been tasked with escorting a group of shinobi from another village, one of them carrying a secret missive. Along with us, there were three ninja from the other village helping with the escort. Minato had warned us that fighting could break out between us, and that we were to keep safe if that was the case. I was running alongside Kakashi and Obito. Minato was in front of us, behind our escortees. We were running on a path, trees and vegetation flanking us on either side. Easy cover, unfortunately for us.

"All right! I'm gonna show my stuff and prove I can become the Hokage!" Obito said, a determined grin on his face as he ran

"It won't be that easy. Obito, were you even listening to Minato-sensei? We're not going to engage in any kind of battle." Kakashi replied

"Hmm, I don't know about that. Missions don't always go as planned..." I muttered negatively, thinking of things to come

Kakashi flicked a glance at me before continuing.

"Besides, we'd only get in Minato-sensei's way."

"Is he really that amazing?" wondered Obito with a touch of awe

"Heck yeah. Minato-sensei's probably the fastest ninja in the world at the moment. He's known as the Yellow Flash of The Leaf-the saying goes, 'Blink and you'll miss him.' " I replied-I'd somewhat idolized our sensei sometimes

"Seriously? Someone that great is teaching _us?_ Man, I'm full of adrenaline, I wish someone would come and attack us!" Obito's eyes were bright, lighting up my own

"Obito, you're gonna jinx us! I know you want to fight, but being attacked is usually a _bad_ thing.." I said in jest

We shared a laugh for a few moments, then Obito asked a question out of nowhere.

"Hey, I wonder who's stronger, The Yellow Flash of The Leaf or The White Fang of The Leaf?"

Kakashi's head snapped to his teammate. I winced; Obito had unknowingly breached a touchy subject.

"Shhh!" I hissed, making frantic gestures to get him to stop talking about it

"The Hidden Leaf had a hero called The White Fang. But I heard he died protecting the village.. haven't you heard of him?" Obito's question was innocent, but Kakashi felt angered nonetheless

"No, I haven't." snapped our grey-haired teammate, breaking into a sprint and racing ahead of us. Obito called after him with concern.

"What's with him?" he wondered with dismay

"Obito, you need to understand something. The White Fang was someone of importance to Kakashi, who he cared for very much. When people lose someone they care about, it can change them in drastic ways. Remember that... and be careful when mentioning the subject in the future." I replied in a grave tone

Obito glanced at me, then fixed his eyes on his rival. Sadness and empathy filled them.

* * *

As we continued on, I felt a sense of apprehension. Darting my eyes around, I saw a shadow flash past in the trees to our left. I hoped it was just an illusion-but then I saw several more shadows following the first.

 _'We're being surrounded!'_

As I thought of what to do, Minato appeared next to us.

"Everyone, listen up!"

"What is is sensei?" asked Obito

"Looks like the enemy is on our trail." Kakashi frowned, as did I. Obito reacted with excitement at the prospect of action.

"Seriously? We're gonna fight?"

"I _told_ you you'd jinx us. We're in real danger Obito, this isn't a game!" I scolded, and Obito sweatdropped nervously

"There are quite a few of them. Obito and I will fall back and confront them. In the meantime, Kakashi and Yoku will complete the mission. It's imperative that you two escape." ordered Minato

 _'What? I'm supposed to go on ahead and leave Obito to be attacked?'_

Trying to ignore my fears, I followed Kakashi with a "Yes, sir!"

"Come on Obito, let's go!" said Minato, slowing down

"Roger!"

As the pair ran behind us, I stole a glance and silently wished them luck.

* * *

As I ran alongside Kakashi, I tried to lift him from his grim mood.

"I want to apologize on Obito's behalf for what he said before. He didn't know it would upset you." Kakashi looked at me, but otherwise didn't respond

"He wants to understand your pain, Kakashi. Maybe one day you'll be friends as well as rivals." I continued optimistically

Kakashi frowned and dropped his gaze. Suddenly, footsteps came up from behind. Too many to be Obito or Minato.

"They've found us. Yoku, go on ahead!" ordered Kakashi

"Shit! Okay, be careful." I sped up, reluctantly leaving him behind

 _'I don't want to be running away! This stupid mission just **had** to go bad...'_

The path we were on widened, running into an area with few trees. I heard the roar of water somewhere near us-the river, most likely. Up ahead I could see a thin wooden bridge which crossed a ravine.

I ran onto the bridge with the foreign ninja, hearing kunai being deflected behind me. I was itching to help Kakashi, but he'd probably be able to handle it.

Unable to resist, I stopped to look behind me-and saw one of our allies get hit by a kunai and fall off the bridge towards the water. The remaining ones looked on in shock and confusion.

I called to my teammate regarding the fallen ninja "Kakashi, we've gotta save him! Minato-sensei is still nearby, if we backtrack and let him know-"

"No! A shinobi's duty is to carry out his mission." Kakashi replied curtly, cutting me off

I tried to argue, worried about our alliance with the foreign ninja "Kakashi, this isn't the best time for-"

Kakashi cut me off again, this time with an order "Go, run! Getting away is imperative, if we get to the forest the village will be close by. They won't pursue us that far."

"Godamnit, fine!" I growled, and we continued past the bridge

* * *

We finally stopped to rest when we reached a large clearing. I didn't like being in such an open space-the only things useful for cover were a few tall rocks scattered around the area.

"We've come this far, we should be safe." Kakashi said as he glanced around

"What about Obito?" I asked, concerned

"Sensei is with him, they'll be fine." he waved me off

One of the foreign ninja approached us, in what I hoped was a friendly manner.

"Thank you. I've gotta hand it to the Yellow Flash's team. Thanks to you, the missive will be delivered safely." he complimented; I relaxed a bit

"Don't mention it." said Kakashi, unwilling to say much on the matter

"Unfortunately, one man had to be sacrificed. That could not be helped." glancing behind him, I saw the other two ninja smirk. I tensed.

"However," one began

"He won't be.." the other continued

"The only sacrifice!" both said, jumping forward and slashing the man in front of us with kunai

My eyes widened as our ally fell to the ground, and I prepared to fight.

"S-so you're the tr-traitors!" the injured man exclaimed, confirming my suspicions

"You bastards! You meant to betray us the whole time, didn't you?" I growled

"Since you were just so focused on the mission, you made _our_ mission quite easy!" replied the skinnier one with a sinister grin

"Not even The Yellow Flash can span this distance quickly. Sorry, but you're going to have to die too." the fatter one said, prompting both to get into fighting stances

"Oh _hell_ no!"

"Yoku, get out of here!" Kakashi said sternly, once again directing me away from conflict

I'd had enough of being pushed around; I replied defiantly "Kakashi, I'm not just gonna keep running away! Like it or not, I'm helping you."

"Then at least stay out of my way.." Kakashi sighed, performing handsigns

"Earth Style: Mud Wall!"

A huge column of earth rose before us, blocking off the pair of enemy ninja. They proceeded to jump over it, only to react with confusion when Kakashi wasn't there.

-CRASH-

Kakashi burst out of the wall of earth, slashing one of the ninja with his sword. While the other one was distracted, I prepared a jutsu to take advantage of the moment.

 _'Water Style: Mouth Shot!'_

I shot a droplet of water from my mouth, going at a high speed. It hit the man in the face, stunning him briefly and giving Kakashi time to slash him as well. He was more resilient than his partner however, and managed to jump away.

* * *

Kakashi and I ran to our fallen ally after the fight; he lay on the ground, blood pooling from his wounds. There was a sudden flash, and Minato appeared near us along with Obito.

"Kakashi, what happened?" our sensei asked with concern, seeing the injured man

"Minato-sensei, Obito!" Kakashi exclaimed

"Kakashi? Yoku? What am I doing here?" Obito was confused at his teleportation

"Nevermind that for now. What happened here?" Minato asked again, the pair running to us

"We were betrayed." I said angrily, getting out one of my small chakra containers

I took a deep breath and prepared to try my healing technique. The foreign man was too badly wounded to move with us-it was a good opportunity to see if I could use my kekkei-genkai to help.

 _'Even if it doesn't work, he could still absorb **my** chakra.'_

I placed my hand on the container, next to the man's head.

"Bite my wrist and suck out the chakra flowing into it-you'll be healed." I instructed slowly-he gave a weak nod in response

Our ally crawled forward and did so-I began absorbing chakra from the container, ignoring the gross feeling of someone biting me. I felt the familiar warmth, but this time it did not go beyond my wrist. After several seconds, the man released me and sat up a little. Kakashi was talking to Minato about the traitors.

"Thanks..." he rasped, voice still hoarse with pain

I felt my chakra-a little bit was missing, but not enough to indicate he'd sucked out much.

"Yes, it worked!" I exclaimed, doing a fist pump. My team regarded me with brief confusion.

* * *

"I'm a little better, but my wounds are too great. Here, take the missive..." the man coughed, passing a purple scroll to Minato who regarded it with a frown.

"But we can't look at it's contents.." he said hesitantly

"Don't worry about it. Please, just confirm that it's the real one!" pleaded the man, lying back onto the grass

 _'The real one?'_

Minato closed his eyes for a second, then opened the scroll. Obito tried to peek in next to him, then gasped.

"I-it's blank..." he said with quiet shock

"What does this mean?" Minato asked the man

"My superior told me that I and one of my teammates would be handed secret missives. Only one would be real.." our ally's voice seemed to be fading, becoming quieter

"Why?!" asked Obito, befuddled

"As a diversion, most likely. Split up the enemy, throw them off the trail of the actual missive. Or as a precaution towards traitors." I answered

"So who has the real missive?" Minato pressed

"If the traitor had it, he wouldn't have attacked me. So.." the man struggled to continue his sentence

Kakashi tensed for a moment, then spoke.

"It was him." the tone of his voice made me catch on

"You mean the guy that fell?" I asked, recalling earlier events

"Fell?! Oh no, please, you must get the secret missive!" cried our ally with suprising strength, before succumbing to his injuries with a gasp

 _'He.. died? Dammit, I didn't use enough chakra!'_ I clenched my fist in anger

"Kakashi, did you leave someone to die?" asked Obito with implication, placing a hand on Kakashi's shoulder

"I only prioritized the mission. I followed the rules." Kakashi responded in a monotone

Obito's expression became one of anger.

"The rules?"

 _'Oh no...'_

"Those who ignore the rules are scum." Kakashi recited simply

"But look at the consequences! If you hadn't turned your back on him, this wouldn't have happened!" Obito exclaimed; their eyes were locked in burning glares

I stood up, intending to end the coming argument, but Minato beat me to it.

* * *

"Obito, stop! It was an unexpected incident. Kakashi was not to blame." he said softly, hand on Obito's shoulder

"Damn it! I'm going.." he growled, brushing off Minato's hand and walking away

"Going where?" asked Kakashi

Obito turned back to us and pointed to himself "Isn't it obvious? I'm gonna save that guy!"

 _'Obito...'_

"But he's probably being pursued by the remaining enemies." Kakashi said, thinking logically

"Kakashi's right, it's too dangerous." Minato agreed

"Hm. Well, Obito, I'll go with you. If there's danger, I want to be there to help!" I exclaimed, Obito's determination inspiring me

He looked at me with a smile as I stood next to him, making my face redden but steeling my resolve.

"Thanks, Yoku! There's no way I'm letting us fail our first mission." he did a brief fist-pump, then continued moving

"But we didn't fail, this was an unforseen problem!" Kakashi protested, more vocally than before

Obito paused in his walking "Kakashi, for an honor student, you're pretty dumb."

 _'Ouch.'_

The afore-mentioned honor student narrowed his eyes and replied in a cool voice "What did you say?"

"Think about it. The four guys we were supposed to guard all disappeared. Who's gonna support our claim that this was all unexpected?" Obito had a good point

"He's right. We could be accused of foul play." I added with a nod

"Yeah. If the village who requested this mission pretends to not have known about the traitors, Minato-sensei will have to take responsibility."

"Never mind me. Our mission is over, you two." said Minato sternly

"All I want to say, is.. Sensei, you can keep dragging me back to the village, but I won't give up searching for this guy." Obito replied, unwavering in his stance

"Neither will I!" I chimed in

"I'll never turn my back on a comrade!" was Obito's last line before he turned himself forward

As Obito leapt I followed him, filled with determination.

* * *

Minato came up behind us, followed by Kakashi.

"I guess it's useless to try and stop you two." sighed our sensei

"Don't worry sensei, we'll save the guy and complete the mission!" I said confidently, full of adrenaline

"Kakashi, you check downstream. Obito, check beyond that. Yoku, go with Obito." Minato instructed; we nodded

"Listen up. Report to me the minute you find him!"

With those words we dispersed, searching along the riverbanks.

Obito and I spotted him quickly, down below the bridge next to the river-but the enemy had too. Noticing they'd thrown shuriken towards the guy, Obito jumped to him and shot a fireball. After the projectiles had been blocked, I ran to stand opposite him. I took in the sheer number of enemies and began to panic.

 _'Damn, there's too many!'_

As they leapt towards us and threw explosive tags, I got an idea.

"Obito, shoot a small fireball! I'll combine it with my water bullet jutsu and make it scalding." I spoke quicky; Obito nodded and we formed handsigns

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

"Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu!"

Our attacks hit the enemy, Obito's fire being smothered but heating the water in turn. They were knocked back into the rocky wall with a smash. Kakashi jumped to land beside us.

"Are you guys alright?"

I was about to respond when more enemy ninja descended from above.

"Yoku, take him and go!" Kakashi said as he faced them; I nodded and shouldered the wounded man

"Wait! The scroll.." he said-I followed his gaze and saw it floating down the river. One of the enemies noticed and grabbed it, then retreating with the rest of them

"Shit!" I cursed

"Obito, Yoku, guard him!" Kakashi ordered

"What about you?" Obito asked

Kakashi drew his sword "I'm getting the scroll back!"

Obito burst out in protest "That's reckless! You saw how many there were!"

 _'Pot calling the kettle black, Obito..'_

"Don't protest. If saving him is your Ninja Way, completing the mission is mine." Kakashi said with resolve, then jumped away

"Kakashi!"

I knew there'd be no stopping our teammate, so I focused on regrouping "Obito, we need to contact Minato-sensei.."

"Yeah!" Obito jumped in the air and threw a smoke-bomb kunai to act as a flare

* * *

"Obito, did you find him?" asked our sensei as he landed before us

"Kakashi went after the enemy to get the scroll back!" Obito exclaimed

"He did _what?_ "

"He was focused on completing the mission. Sensei, you should go help him.." I said, pointing in the direction Kakashi had gone; Minato dashed away in response

* * *

Later, we stood near the village with the man we'd saved. Minato had successfully dispatched of the remaining enemies after finding Kakashi, allowing them to retrieve the missive.

"This completes the mission." said Minato, handing the scroll to the man

The man paused for a moment "Yes... Thank you for saving my life." I smiled, glad to have helped out

"The Yellow Flash of the Leaf.. I hope we meet again someday." the two adults shook hands, then Minato turned to us

"All right then, let's go everyone."

We leapt into the trees; I hung back with Minato.

"Sensei, missions can be a drag." I huffed, tired from the eventful day

"You're right about that. Things don't always go as planned."

"Still, I'm glad the missive was delivered."

"Yes.."

I jumped forward a little, catching up to my teammates.

"I'm glad we completed the mission!" exclaimed Obito triumphantly

"Probably..." said Kakashi quietly

"'Probably'? What do you mean?" I piped up

"Back there, what that guy said.. If the mission was successful, he would be more concerned about the missive and not his life."

"What do you mean?" asked Obito, lost

"The missive he carried was also a fake." Obito and I gasped

"Mission-ception, eh? I guess we were just a diversion while another team delivered the real one. That's a good strategy." I said with a nod

"That's the real reason they requested Minato-sensei for a C-Rank mission. With someone that powerful guarding it, it makes it look like it's the real thing." finished Kakashi

"When did you guys figure that out?" wondered Obito

"I considered it back when we discovered the first fake." I said, flashing back to earlier

"So did I." Kakashi agreed

"Then why did you risk your life going after a fake missive?" Obito asked impatiently

"That was the mission. Completing the mission is my Ninja Way." Kakashi said resolutely-we fell silent

 _'I hope our other missions aren't this finicky..'_

* * *

Kakashi, Minato and I stood waiting in the photographer's room. After our first mission, we were told to get our team photo taken. The other teams went through this process as well, marking the new milestone in their lives. I was unsurprised by this, since I could somewhat recall Team 7's photo.

Unfortunately for our new team, our milestone was delayed. We had been standing waiting for thirty minutes and the photographer was getting angry.

"Where is he? I don't have all day!" growled the man

"I beg your pardon, he should be here soon.." said Minato in an attempt to calm him down

"As usual, he's late." said Kakashi, arms folded in annoyance

"Don't worry, Obito'll be here." I said patiently

Kakashi shook his head "You're too easy on him, Yoku.."

A creak sounded and we turned our heads to see the sliding door open. It was Obito, puffing from exertion. I noticed he had something in his mouth.

"Obito, are you eating a lollipop?" I asked with bewilderment

"Uh.."

"You're late! And you can't get your photo taken with that thing in your mouth. It's always like this.." sighed Kakashi with exasperation, giving Obito a thumbs down

"What did you say?!"

Minato, sensing the oncoming argument, moved between his students.

"Whoa, everybody calm down! Mr Genzo is tired of waiting, hurry and get into position." he said, nudging us onto a brown mat in front of the photographer

As we faced the camera, Minato pulled us into position-Kakashi and Obito were flanking him while I was in front of the three.

"Don't worry about the lollipop stick Obito-you could probably get it to look cool!" I whispered, upon noticing it was still in his mouth

"Yeah, good idea!" he responded with a smile; I blushed

 _'Crap, I can't be blushing in the photo!'_

I tried to focus instead on my pose for the photo-the photographer prompted us.

"Now, look this way.."

Obito and Kakashi turned their heads to the side, looking away from each other grumpily. Minato noticed this.

"It's a commemorative photo, look at the lens!" our sensei placed a hand on each of their heads, turning them to face the camera

I smiled at their antics and went with something basic-a simple peace sign and a wink. The camera flashed, and the moment was preserved.

* * *

Later, at home, I had a good look at our team photo. Each of us had been given a copy of it in a photo frame, which I'd placed on my bedside table. Turning a critical eye to myself, I observed for a moment-then slapped my hand to my face.

"Uuugh... I _was_ blushing in the photo!" I moaned in dismay

Ignoring my embarrassment, I looked at the others. Kakashi was staring straight at the camera with a somewhat annoyed look. Minato had a "What-can-you-do?" look, probably due to the boy's arguing. Obito's head was tilted to the side a bit, a look of determination on his face. He actually _had_ managed to make the lollipop stick look cool-it stuck out of the side of his mouth casually.

Mirroring my photo-self, I blushed. Then groaned at how easy it was for it to happen.

 _'I was hoping this crush would go away, but it only seems to be getting worse.'_

* * *

I was walking around the village, looking for Obito. After trying my healing method and having it semi-work, I wanted try it more carefully. I'd decided to confess the nature of the Chakra Leech Jutsu to Obito as well, thinking he shouldn't be kept in the dark if I used it in the future.

Eventually I saw him, carrying a hissing brown cat towards a small house. I watched as he handed it to an old woman, causing it to calm down. After he'd said goodbye to her, I waved to catch his attention. As he walked over, I winced at a large scratch on his cheek.

"Heya, Yoku! What's up?" I blushed automatically-I had discovered it was unavoidable by that point

"Nothin' much. Actually, I want to show you something-follow me." I said quietly- Obito did so

After moving through several streets we came to our destination, my house. As we entered, I noticed Obito shiver slightly.

"Hey, it's okay. Nobody lives here except me.." I said to calm his nerves

"Wait.. you live alone?" his question was tinged with concern

"Yeah. My parents are gone, so it's just me. My aunt Kushina visits sometimes though." I ignored the thoughts these words brought and swerved into my room

Obito sat down on the mat at the foot of my bed, while I approached a wooden shelf near it with several drawers.

I decided to lift the depressing mood and turned my head to him "I'm not _really_ alone though. I've still got friends like you.."

That was a lie; he wasn't like my other friends. I was reminded of this when his familiar smile set my insides aglow.

"Okay, what I'm about to show you Obito... please, you must promise not to tell _anybody._ " I said gravely-he replied with a firm nod

"I promise."

I turned back to the shelf and opened the drawer where I kept the chakra jugs. I didn't need to inspect Obito for wounds-the scratches on his face were apparent enough.

"Remember on our mission, when I healed that guy?" I said as I rifled through some old bric-a-brac

"Yeah, I was wondering about that.."

* * *

After pulling out some old fabric, I uncovered the jugs and grabbed one carefully. I closed the drawer and sat down in front of Obito, proceeding to explain my kekkei-genkai a bit.

"Well, basically, I have this.. ability, which lets me absorb chakra from things and use it to heal myself. I can also heal others with my own chakra if they bite me and suck it out. But if I did that, my chakra would run out fast and possibly kill me."

I held up my right hand, showing the faded bite mark on the wrist.

"So I got the idea to combine these two things. When the injured guy bit around the hand I was absorbing chakra from, he sucked out the chakra I was absorbing instead of my own. I think I can use this to help our team, since none of us know medical ninjutsu. Remember when I got that idea, back at the Academy? Well, that was this. I-I can show you.. if you want.."

I held the jug nervously, hoping I didn't sound crazy.

"Oh, sure! I was just gonna bandage my cheek anyway."

"Okay, um.. just, uh, bite onto my wrist. I'll start absorbing the chakra from this container, then you can suck it out." I held up my arm with the jug, attempting to remain calm

Obito moved his head next to my wrist and opened his mouth, but hesitated "Won't it hurt?"

I waved him off "Ehh, I'll get used to it.."

I flinched slightly when my wrist was bit into, then began absorbing the container's chakra. I found it harder to focus than usual since Obito was so close to me.

 _'Close your eyes, you smitten moron!'_

After a couple of seconds I felt my wrist be released and I stopped the flow of chakra. Obito sat up and sure enough, his cheek was healed. He brought his hand up to his face, his eyes widening.

"Whoa.. it's gone! That's cool!" he exclaimed, looking at me with awe

This made me shy, but I pushed on "I'm just glad it worked properly this time. Before I start using it with our team though, I gotta tell you something else about it." I took a deep breath, steeling my nerves

"You remember when I accidentally killed that cat?" Obito's face creased in a frown

"My ability doesn't just let me absorb chakra from objects, Obito. I can.. do it to living things too. Suck em' dry, just like the cat..." my voice quieted-I brought a hand to my face and shook my head

"I didn't mean to, I swear. That was the first time I used it, and I didn't even know what I was doing. I'm just scared. Scared that someday I'm gonna end up killing one of my friends without even noticing.." I was now down to almost a whisper, at last revealing some of my inner turmoil

I continued to shake my head, nightmare after nightmare conjuring in my brain.

 _'He's probably gonna leave. I wouldn't blame him.'_

I was surprised when Obito moved over and pulled me into a hug. Before this, it'd been _me_ who'd hugged _him_ -having it reversed felt... different. But not in a bad way.

The giddy feeling was gradual, spreading out from my chest to engulf my entire being. Just being there with him, it was an endless moment of tranquility. I knew something then-what I felt for this person before me wasn't a crush anymore. It was infinitely more complex-and so, infinitely more painful.

"Thank you." I whispered after several seconds, making myself draw away reluctantly

* * *

When I bid him goodbye at the door, Obito finally noticed that I was as red as a tomato and asked if I was well.

"Are you feeling okay? You look flushed."

"Y-yep! Just a fever, I think. Should go away in a couple days.." my old nervousness returned, the stammering along with it

"Alright. See you later!"

After watching the Uchiha as he ran and turned a corner, I shut the door and slid down it with a depressed sigh.

 _'I'm in love with him.'_

* * *

I was on my way to meet up with Kakashi and Minato, Obito alongside me. It had been a few months since our first big mission together and we'd gone on a number of others since then. They were mostly small things, though we got in a few scrapes-Like when we had to deliver a package to an old man far from the village. We ended up being chased by strange chef-ninja, who attacked us and tried to steal the package. When we eventually got to the old man, we discovered what was in the package-a preserved bowl of ramen. It was one of the strangest missions I've ever been on-crazy chefs going after us and willing to die just for one bowl of ramen was weird.

Anyway, back to the present. We were walking through one of the quieter paths, towards a bridge. On our way to meet up, we bumped into Rin, Guy and Genma. They each held flyers of some sort.

"H-hi Rin!" stuttered Obito, waving nervously to his crush

As he and Rin proceeded to catch up, for once I didn't get sad-I got _mad._ Just watching them made my blood boil, the new feeling disturbing me a little.

 _'Calm, calm. Rin is my friend, Rin is my friend, Rin is-'_

"What's with the look, flat-chest?" called my nemesis as he spotted me

I retorted with more venom than usual "Shut up, dickweed. I'm not in the mood." my fists clenched and shook; I was trying not to throttle him or Rin

"What?!"

 _'Distraction, distraction..'_

As I frantically looked for a way out, my eyes landed on Guy. I decided it was time to do something that nobody would've thought I'd do

"My eternal rival, I challenge you to a spar!" I yelled, mimicking my green-clad friend-I even posed for extra effect

The others made confused exclamations. Guy became emotional.

"Oh... I have been waiting for this day to come! I gladly accept your challenge, let us fight here and now!" he replied excitedly

 _'Thank god for you, Guy. If I don't hit something I'm gonna explode.'_

Obito spoke up "But Yoku, you'll be late for-"

I cut him off "Nevermind that, I'll catch up with you soon!"

* * *

I came at Guy with ferocity. Though it wasn't him I was angry at, I nonetheless used frustration to fuel my fighting. I threw kicks and punches, even slashing with a kunai. While I did get in quite a few impacts, I was sloppy and too angry to perform ninjutsu.

After some bouts of taijutsu, I was defeated by a well-timed kick. Guy had not escaped unscathed however-he was bruised and had a bleeding nose.

I rubbed my cheek as I got up with a groan. I noticed that Obito was still there, talking with Rin. Genma was smirking, no doubt because of my loss. Despite both of these things, my rage didn't reignite-Guy's kick had knocked the wind and feeling out of me. I approached him sheepishly after I got up, apologizing for my aggressiveness.

"Nice job, Guy. Sorry for attacking you out of the blue like that."

Guy gave me a thumbs-up "No worries, I relish any chance to test my youth!"

We bumped fists as a farewell, wincing slightly at the impact of bruised flesh. With a sigh I walked to Obito and Rin, trying to ignore Genma's taunts.

"Cmon' Obito, we've gotta go." I said curtly, practically pulling the blushing boy away with me

"O-okay. Uh, bye Rin!" he called; I waved to her quickly as well

When we were close to the bridge, my mind was silently stewing in the emotion that still confounded me-jealousy.

 _'Why'd it have to be **her?** I feel like I'm being betrayed. Ah, but it's not her fault. I don't have a right to complain when I've never even told anybody about this..'_

"Why don't I tell you?" one of my thoughts slipped out through my mouth

"Huh? Tell me what?" Obito wondered, no longer being dragged but walking beside me

Realizing what I'd said, I froze and looked for an escape. Remembering where we were going, I quickly conjured up a ridiculous but effective distraction.

"Look! It's Kakashi, and he's not wearing his mask!" I cried, pointing off to my right

Obito's head snapped where I'd pointed, surprised "What, really?!"

Using the precious moment of diversion, I dashed away from Obito and made it to the bridge. Kakashi was there, staring at me with a raised eyebrow as I proceeded to thud my head onto one of the bridge's wooden pillars.

"...what are you doing?"

"Trying to kill my idiocy."

* * *

Some minutes later, I stood waiting with a sore forehead and my teammates. For once, our sensei was the late one.

"What the heck? Minato-sensei tells us to assemble and _he's_ the one who's late! Give me a break.." sighed Obito, leaning on a rail

"You're one to talk!" retorted Kakashi sharply

"What did you say?!"

I held up my hands readily, used to the pair's bickering.

"Calm down you guys.." I started-but they weren't listening

"You want to go right now?" Obito said as he glared, fist held in front of himself

Kakashi just shrugged it off with amusement. Naturally, Obito reacted with growing fury. I was getting worried that words would start turning into punches, if you get my drift.

"Hey! did you just scoff at me?"

"What of it?"

Spotting a flash of color, I saw Minato appear on top of the bridge's archway and thankfully end the fight.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. You're all here, I see." he said as he landed in front of us

"Minato-sensei! Did we get a new mission?" asked Obito-he was always eager for action

"Not today.."

Minato pulled out three pieces of paper from his pocket. I realized they were the flyers Rin, Guy and Genma had been carrying.

"What're those for?" I asked

"They're applications. I've recommended you three for promotion to chunin!" he replied cheerfully, handing one to each of us; I skimmed over mine nervously

 _'But we've not been genin for that long. Plus, don't we have to pass a really hard exam first?'_

Obito on the other hand, was ecstatic. So much so that he leapt forward and hugged Minato with an excited exclamation.

"Minato-sensei, you're awesome!"

Minato spoke up at Obito's over-eagerness "Hey, don't jump the gun."

"Huh?"

"You have to take the Chunin Exam first."

Obito's grin turned into a look of disbelief, and I merely sighed.

"Damn. Knew it.."

"There are three parts to the exam, and each one is quite difficult." said Minato, holding up three fingers

"Double damn." my teammates flicked looks of confusion my way as they often did

"Oh, come on. Are you kidding me?" Obito groaned as he stepped out of the hug, his enthusiasm deflated

"Hey, don't sweat it Obito. You've got the drive for it at least." I said, because it was true-he certainly had more than I

"You'll never pass since you can't even make it to the rendezvous on time.." Kakashi muttered, earning another angry yell from Obito

"Kakashi, you're even more of a pessimist than I am.." I sighed with a shake of my head

Minato broke the argument by clearing his throat "Anyway, you've worked together for a while and earned the right to take the Chunin Exam. That's why I recommended you. However, it's not compulsory. Whether you take it or not is entirely up to you."

Obito was the first to respond to this ultimatum with enthusiasm "There's no way I'm gonna miss it!"

Kakashi responded right after him "..I'll take it."

"What the heck, you two will be at each other's throats if I don't come with you." I said, stepping between them with a smile

Minato smiled at us as he saw us for what we were-a team united.

* * *

Finally having decided to confide in someone about my feelings for Obito, I approached the somewhat familiar house with apprehension. Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the sturdy door twice. My aunt opened it.

"Oh, it's you Yoku. Did something happen?" she asked with mild concern upon seeing me

"No, no. Well... yes, sorta, but-um..." I cleared my throat "can I just talk to you about something?" I whispered, my courage already dissolving

"Sure, come on in.." she gestured, opening the door wider

I entered the house, which was a little bigger than mine. We entered into a corridor that branched off in three directions; to the left was the bathroom, to the right were a pair of bedrooms, and in front of me was a living room that had an entrance to a kitchen. The walls were simple cream, unlike the wooden look of my house. We entered the living room, Kushina gesturing for me to sit at a circular table. As I did, she grabbed something from the fridge-a plate of small, round shortbread biscuits. She placed it onto the table and sat down opposite me, already grabbing one of the biscuits. I was unable to resist the temptation either-sometimes our table manners were less than stellar.

After munching the soft shortbread nervously, I was ready to talk.

"So, aunty Kushina.. you know about love right? You and Minato are engaged now.." I began, referring to what'd happened a month earlier

Kushina swallowed a biscuit she was chewing, eyebrows shooting up in surprise "Whoa, I wasn't expecting that. Knowing about love... well, people can't exactly _know_ love. Love just... is. But if you're looking for advice, I can help."

"Well, I am, kinda.." I was already beginning to redden

"So, who's the lucky guy?" asked Kushina with a cheeky grin

"H-hey! I'm not telling you _that_..." I said guardedly, my face darkening further

My aunt held her hands up in surrender "Alright, alright. But at least tell me how you feel."

"Well, I noticed I had a crush on him some time ago. We'd known each other for a long time, so I guess I should have seen it coming. It just sort of happened. Then.. it got worse. I got really happy and nervous around him, I wanted to be around him and all that mushy stuff..." I was fidgeting nervously by this point

Kushina's grin widened to Cheshire cat levels "You really _do_ like him, huh?"

"W-well.. yeah. But, I haven't told him. It's because he.. likes somebody else." the last part was a grumble. My frustration from the day previous had not left me yet

Kushina's expression softened a bit "Hmm.. well, I guess the best thing to do for now is see what happens. Minato and I, well, if we didn't talk to each other about how we felt we'd probably not be together. My advice is to tell him how you feel, then you'll at least have closure if he doesn't feel the same."

"Okay... yeah. Just gotta... say it. Someday." I rested my cheek on my hand with a sigh

"Don't worry too much about it. Just be patient, eventually something will happen. Have another cookie, it usually cheers _me_ up." finished my aunt, already following her own advice

"Thanks, aunty Kushina.." I smiled a bit, leaning forward and dutifully grabbing another round pastry delight

* * *

 **Longest chapter so far, over 7000 words! My neck hurts from hunching over this keyboard so much. Next chapter sees Team Minato going on another mission, this time to retrieve and bring something back to the village. I'm glad to see you guys liking the team, so I hope you liked this chapter where they developed a bit. Also, as a heads up, chapters will probably be posted slower for a while. I'm getting burned out and tired from managing this as well as other things, so I will try to take it slow. I won't leave you guys hanging forever though. Leave a fav, follow or review if you want and see you next chapter!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello again, fellows. Here is chapter 9 for you, wherein the team embark on a mission involving a secretive village and Yoku has a bit of a chat. As a heads up to you guys, I've edited previous chapters to improve them as I realized some aspects were typed in a hurry and need refinement. I'm so sorry for the delay on this one, I had trouble writing it initially and it ended up being quite a bother. I have done some of the next chapter as well, though. Thanks to anybody who left a fav, follow or review, I appreciate it!**

 **Remember when I was talking about drawing a picture of Yoku? Well, here it is:**

 **prntscr com/ bjikay (Remove the spaces to use, and put a period between prntscr and com.)**

 **I apologize for the quality of the photo, and for how crumpled the paper is. The drawing still needs tweaks and fixes, but is mostly done except for the color and outlining. I'm not much of an artist, so it's a little cruddy looking. I realize her headband is meant to be under her hair, but I ended up drawing it over. Imagine it whichever way you want, this is just an interpretation.**

 **RadioPoisioning:** **Yeah, I was in a hurry to get out all the dialogue so I skipped details. I have gone back and edited the chapter to improve it.**

 **Tanner Clark:** **Nice to know I amused somebody, there'll be a bit more humor in this chapter.**

 **lizy2000:** **Yep, challenges shall await the genin next chapter.**

 **Ginseng Tea:** **At that point Yoku's still new to ninjutsu, so didn't really have a full grasp on it. Also, her stamina and chakra _are_ a bit more than normal, but not huge.**

 **Hanabi Mirei:** **I'm glad to know you like it so far, Yoku will have more of an impact as time goes on.**

I stood next to my sensei atop the tiled roof of a small building, waiting for Obito to arrive. We had been assigned a mission, a C-Rank. We were to retrieve a package from The Hidden Lock Village in The Land of Keys. What was in the package, I had no idea. For some reason our destination seemed to ring a bell deep in my mind. I was trying to remember why when our late comrade came to a stop beside Kakashi, who was below the building I stood on.

"You're late again!" he said irritably, pointing at Obito

"A lot happened on my way here and I got lost.." Obito babbled, wiping his brow and panting

"Those two.." I shook my head with a smile, broken out of my reverie by the usual bickering

"They're not exactly falling into line, are they?" commented Minato with amusement

"That's for sure. But you know, sensei.."

As I began my sentence, Guy suddenly appeared between my angry teammates and issued Kakashi a challenge. I bit my lip to stifle a chortle at the resulting mayhem.

"*ahem* I reckon that they'll get along someday." I decided I'd better get us moving "And for now, I'll hold them together!" I grinned and ran down the roof, jumping off and into the trio of boys

"Right you guys, come on! We're already late!" I said, grabbing each of their hands and pulling them forward

Leaving behind a bewildered Guy, we three ran as one. My eyes were bright, looking forward to what lay ahead.

* * *

Some time later, we'd left the village and were walking through rocky plains. My brow was furrowed in concentration as I tried to recall anything about where we were headed.

"Lock Village... I swear I've heard that before..." I mumbled; I turned my head to Minato

"Hey sensei, what's The Hidden Lock village like?"

Minato hummed in thought for a moment before replying "Well, it's small and secretive. Their community does business with larger villages, which is how they get by. They have shinobi adept in the art of espionage; they trade information."

My brows furrowed further, yet I still couldn't grasp any memories. Deciding to think on it later, I asked about the mysterious package instead.

"So then, the package we're picking up... is it a scroll or something like that?"

Minato smiled and replied jovially; "No, actually. The package is a collection of rare flowers."

My teammates and I came to an abrupt halt. Obito's jaw dropped in a comical expression of horror, Kakashi raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Uhm.. what?" was all I could manage in response, mouth hanging open

"Flowers, are you serious?! I thought this mission was important!" cried Obito incredulously, waving his fists about

"It _is_ important, Obito. These flowers are useful, we need them for medical research." said Minato sternly; he seemed awfully serious about a bunch of plants

 _'We're picking up flowers from a **spy** village? I wouldn't expect them to deal in goods like that. Then again, maybe they're secret experimental flowers... uhhh...'_

As I tried to figure out what was going on, I saw structures surrounded by a wooden wall in the distance. Minato pointed at them and spoke.

"There's the village, that way. When we come within range of it, be careful if you speak to others. Some of the villagers aren't trusting of outsiders."

I sighed; it was gonna be a long day.

* * *

I peered at the squat wooden houses as we came closer to the village entrance. Few people were about, most of them wearing forehead protectors. Stamped on the metal plates was the simple symbol of a key.

 _'Okay, I know I've seen **that** before.'_

Hand raised to my face, I could feel the buried information within my grasp. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a crouched girl about my age with long, dark hair. My vision was drawn to her, as was my body. Without knowing why, a question escaped my mouth.

"Hey.. what's your name?"

She raised her head with a start. Her eyes were wide and honey-brown, a small mole under the right one. Her skin was a pale pink. She looked at me warily, but answered nonetheless.

"Hanare..."

Images hidden in a misty fog leapt to mind, followed by voices. I snapped my fingers as I remembered, a smile dawning on my face. Hanare flinched at the sudden noise, and I proceeded to reassure her.

"Hey, it's okay, I'm not here to hurt you. I'm just really glad I finally recalled something. Thanks, Hanare... I'm Yoku." I stuck a hand out in greeting with an easy smile

After eyeing me cautiously for a second, she took it in her own and shook it.

"Nice to-" our conversation was interrupted by an annoyed voice

"Hey, don't dawdle. We've got to stick to the mission." I dropped my hand and turned to Kakashi, poking my tongue out at him but following regardless. I waved goodbye to Hanare, who returned it with a small one of her own.

Rejoining my team, I walked beside them with a spring in my step.

* * *

In a small, dark room, two men stood preparing a cylindrical case with a wooden shell. Each wore a grey coat and protective gloves.

"Those leaf ninja sure wanted to get ahold of these, huh?" mused one, observing something held in his hand

"Yeah. Paid a ton. Frankly, I'm glad to be rid of em'. They're creepin' me out..." mumbled the other quietly, standing over the case and fiddling with dials in it's interior

The first man carefully placed the item he held into the case, glancing at it's settings as he did so. The second man rubbed his hands together nervously, eyes avoiding what was now within the case.

"Lock it." ordered the first man sternly, causing the second man to flinch "Oh come _on,_ we've been doing this job for years. A little 'Dirty Work' is expected." continued the first man with exasperation, pushing his partner towards the case

"But this is just..." the second man shivered, unable to finish his sentence

Swallowing, he proceeded to double-check the dials within the case before closing it. Lastly, he clicked the lock into place with a sigh of relief. His partner picked up the case, walking to the door on the other side of the room. He proceeded to knock on it thrice; when it opened, the case was passed to another man. The door closed.

The second man took off his gloves, then ran a hand through his sparse hair "It's out of our hands now. I hope those damn leaf ninja take those... _things_ far away!"

* * *

I was moving my mouth subtly, trying to whistle. The only noises I could manage to make ranged from blowing air to making broken half-whistles. For whatever reason, I just couldn't get the air to flow correctly.

"What are you doing?" asked Obito, stopping me for a moment

"Trying to whistle. I can't seem to get it right." I continued trying to whistle, but it got worse as I became embarrassed

"Why do you wanna whistle?"

"Because I finally remembered something." I gave up on whistling, switching to low humming instead

"It was the girl." said Kakashi suddenly, my head turning to him in surprise

"You're observant. But also right. You know, maybe you should have said hi to her too, Kakashi." I suggested-Kakashi closed his eyes and shook his head

"Maybe one day.." I mumbled, turning my head to the fast-approaching village.

 _'Finally, I can see what this place looks li-'_

"Whoa, you three. This is where we stop." said Minato abruptly, standing in our path with a hand raised

"The Hidden Lock village is careful with outsiders. I'll go in and get the package, but you'll have to wait here until I come back." he continued, turning to go

The three of us nodded and our sensei disappeared through the gap in the wall into the jumble of buildings.

* * *

Several minutes later I sat drumming my fingers on the ground. I was observing the plains, which were sparse of vegetation except for grass. My eyes wandered from a couple of rocks back to the village. A few guards stood about at the entrance, silent sentinels watching us. I didn't like to look at them for too long-their gazes were eerily penetrating.

I got up when I saw Minato emerge from the village, flanked by two Lock shinobi and carrying a cylindrical case that seemed to be made of wood. I waved at him, then expressed bewilderment when the shinobi stayed after we regrouped.

"They'll come with us, to make sure we get this where it needs to go." said Minato in reassurance, sensing our confusion

I still retained some suspicion of the strangers, but nonetheless accepted the new presences. Our group set off running across the plains, leaving the mysterious village behind.

* * *

After about half an hour, we crossed back into the forest. I was glad to be back on somewhat familiar terrain, but our tagalongs were making me uneasy. They hadn't spoken a word since they appeared, and seemed not to really notice we were with them. Regardless, they seemed to be carrying out their task as needed, flanking Minato who carried the case. I attributed this way of acting to their village.

 _'Maybe the Lock village just trains it's shinobi in a certain way..'_

After a while, my attention shifted away from them-I'd come to regret it later. After fifteen minutes had passed, their behavior had changed subtly. I came to notice the fact that they were closer to Minato-a little bit too close. They also seemed to carry an air of slight restlessness, their eyes glancing around every couple of seconds in a way that reminded me of drug addicts. Whatever was going on, something felt wrong..

I snapped to attention when I heard a whoosh of air beside me-one of the Lock shinobi was attempting to kick Minato, who dodged it in confusion. Despite his protests and questions, the Lock ninja continued going at him-when his partner joined in, Kakashi blocked him off. Despite attempts to reason with them, the Lock-nin remained oddly silent. Their eyes were wide with a strange and familiar look-it was borderline crazy.

Minato began to fight, hindered by the case-Obito tried to help him. Kakashi was getting pushed back-we ended up straying from the path and into the forest. I was about to perform a jutsu when I heard Minato's voice.

"Yoku, grab it!"

I barely had time to register the cylindrical object coming towards me-I caught the case with an "Oof!" in both arms, then jumped back onto a tree branch. The ninja who'd been attacking Minato shifted his attention toward me with an almost animalistic growl. I was a little off-balance, and the ninja moved with incredible speed-

 _-CRACK-_

There was a splintering noise as the Lock ninja's kick landed solidly-on the wooden case. I was flung backwards off the branch I'd been on with the force of the impact, catching a glimpse of Minato as I fell.

* * *

I coughed as I slid backwards along the ground, leaving dust clouds in my wake. My arms were empty, the case having fallen onto the ground. I was surprised to hear a clinking noise close by, like glass. I got up in a panic to grab the case-then winced as I noticed it's lid had been forced open by the kick, a crack running down it's side. My eyes scanned the area for it's missing contents, then widened.

The thing that was rolling on the ground certainly wasn't a bunch of flowers. It was a glass canister with metal on either end, containing something suspended in a yellow liquid. Disgust filled me as I realized what it was-a pair of eyeballs, bobbing about like grotesque ping-pong balls. Their centers were abnormal-a chill ran down my spine as I gazed at the red-and-black pattern of the sharingan. Even though they were inactive, I knew very well how much damage those eyes could inflict.

Suppressing a shiver of revulsion, I grabbed the canister and put it back into the case's cushioned interior, shoving the lid down. I was relieved when it clicked, the lock still appearing to work.

I tried to stay silent as I crouched, hugging the case close. I tensed when I heard something land behind me-then sighed in relief when I realized it was just Minato. I stood up, still a little shaken from seeing the case's true contents.

"Where's the enemy?" I asked, peering into the trees cautiously

"They can't bother us anymore. Kakashi and Obito should catch up in a minute." he said calmly-I didn't pester him for details

I passed him the case carefully-it seemed much more fragile to me now.

 _'Best to pretend I never saw what I saw.'_

I clasped my hands behind my back, avoiding my sensei's gaze. I felt sure he'd read me like a book if I met it.

Kakashi and Obito appeared, a little worse for wear. My vision darted to avoid Obito when it passed near him-it'd occurred to me that the eyes in the canister were likely taken from one of his relatives.

Now that we were all together, Minato held something up in one hand. All of us leant forward-whatever it was, it was rather small.

As my vision focused I saw the object more clearly-it was a tiny transparent dart "I believe _this_ is why our escorts attacked us. Someone wanted to make trouble for us-not sure exactly who, though." Minato carefully placed the dart into one of his jacket pockets after a few seconds

 _'That would explain the familiar look those Lock ninja had... they were sick.'_

"Whoever they were, I think they're gone now. They'd have done something else by now if they'd intended to stick around." I said, looking around warily nonetheless

Kakashi joined in with a question "What about the Lock shinobi?"

Minato looked behind him for a moment before answering solemnly "Whatever they were poisoned with was fatal-there was nothing that could be done."

There were a few moments of tense silence, before Minato broke it as he told us we'd continue on back to the Leaf Village carefully. We leapt into the trees, jumping from branch to branch as normal. I didn't say much on the way back, only responding to questions with short answers until they stopped. All of us were a little disturbed by the turn the initially normal mission had taken. The silence seemed to hang above us like a shroud, until we at last made it back home safely.

* * *

The evening after our messed-up mission, I was making a trip to see some people I hadn't spoken to for a while. I carried a pair of flowers in one hand-both were simple white lilies I'd picked up on the way. In the other hand was a small bottle of water. The sun was setting, signifying the day's end-people numbered few in the village's paths and streets, most of them packing up shops, doing some last-minute errands or just heading off somewhere. But no matter whether it was midnight or midday, the village was never truly quiet. After all, it was full of ninja who worked stealthily behind the scenes.

I found the place I was looking for-there were a few other people around, going about their business silently. My eyes flicked across the flat stones as I entered the fenced area-one, two, five, ten-sooner or later, I found the pair I was looking for. They looked just like the others, words and numbers carven into their surface underneath the Leaf symbol. But, to me, they were unique. I knelt down and carefully placed the pair of lilies in the small clay pot between the graves, taking out a withered old flower which I failed to identify. I tipped the bottle I'd brought and filled the pot with water, hoping the new plants would fare better than the old one.

The area seemed melancholy; not unusual, since it was a graveyard. The setting sun made it even more so, gradually darkening the sky and slowing the village.

 _'Small world..'_ I thought absentmindedly as I saw someone across from me also placing flowers on a grave

It was strange, sitting at my parent's graves while knowing nothing was actually buried beneath them. I suppose I liked to think that some part of them was there in a sort of ethereal sense, not physical. Whether my beliefs held true or not, I didn't know. I knew there was _some_ form of afterlife, but considering I'd been reincarnated I wasn't really sure what to think about it.

I spoke quietly into the air, hoping something was listening "Hey mom, dad. Sorry I haven't stopped by in so long. Life's been hectic. I'm getting along pretty well with my team, we've completed several missions already. Though not without a few bumps.. just today, the mission we were on got kinda messed up. We came out of it okay though."

I glanced at the sky-it was dusk now, feeding the lengthening shadows as they crept along the ground. I rubbed my eyes drowsily and suppressed an instinctive yawn.

"I'm a little nervous about the future. The Chunin exam's coming up, and I don't really know what to expect. It's probably gonna be a bunch of difficult tests, so I'm gonna train in the meantime."

I rubbed the back of my neck in embarrassment as I continued "Also.. I'm kinda... in love with somebody who likes someone else. It's bugging me. I don't know if my feelings will go away, I just want them to stop messing with me. I've gotta focus on other things.."

I closed my eyes for a moment, letting sadness seep into my voice

"I wish you guys were here... you'd know how to help."

I noted sun was now a red line on the dimming horizon and decided I'd better go home and get some sleep. I got up from my kneeling position, stretched, and began my walk. I glanced back twice, before my tired body urged me onward.

* * *

 **Oh gosh, I am so over this chapter. I've had very little time to actually get it done and polished, so sorry it took me so long. The next chapter should be longer and more interesting-the team'll be getting into the Chunin exam. I may or may not spread the exam over two chapters, I have some of it written now and it depends how long it ends up being. Props to anybody who recognized the Lock village, it's a bit of an easter egg.**

 **I'm going to take my time writing future chapters so I can make sure they're as good as I can make them. This means you guys might have to wait sometimes, but you should be getting more quality in the writing. Regardless, I promise this story will keep on going until the end. I'm really grateful to all of you, whether you're following the story or just casually reading. I'm glad to have received criticism, too-I've been learning how to better myself a little thanks to it.**

 **Anyway, thanks for the support, and see you next chapter!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Apologies for taking more than a month to upload. I've been preoccupied with several other tasks recently, including drawing a new cover for this story. It's meant to be Obito's goggles, but again I'm not really an artist so I couldn't make the drawing incredible. It's drawn on plain old paper as I am awful with digital art. I've tried to make this chapter and the next as good as they can be in my absence. The Chunin exam will be covered in this chapter and the one after. They're both of importance, to the characters and the story itself. I've no idea of the currency rate in Naruto; all I know is the currency they use is called Ryo. I'm just going to use the rates of japanese yen if I need to describe the specific value of something. But I hope you guys enjoy the chapter, I had fun writing it! Thanks to all who left a review, fav or follow, knowing that people enjoy this is wonderful.**

I strode through the village on a winding path with a couple of other leaf genin, gazing with a mix of fear and excitement at the large building we were approaching. There was a white banner hung above it's entrance which loudly proclaimed in black:

 **Chunin Exam Part One: Literary Test**

I automatically merged with the crowd waiting outside. Today was the day-everyone here would be competing in the Chunin Exam. Not all of them would pass. Some wouldn't be able to handle the strain, others would be disqualified, some would simply fail. I was a little antsy myself, wanting to just get the exam over with either way. The first part was a written test of some sort; I had been fueling my knowledge for it, but I was still worried nonetheless. I twisted the hem of my jacket as I imagined a series of scenarios in which I'd fail.

 _'I could forget something important, or the test might be too hard, or not make sense or I could be distracted-'_

"Hey!" I was snapped out of my increasingly ridiculous imaginings by a feminine voice

It was Rin, waving at me from afar. I squeezed past a few genin and met up with her. She didn't seem to be a bundle of nerves like myself, at least on the outside; her clothes and hair weren't unkempt like mine and she was smiling.

"Excited for the exam?" asked Rin when I stood before her

I answered with a strained smile "Um... 'Excited' isn't really the word I'd use. More like 'Extremely anxious'. Because seriously, any number of things could go wrong.." I folded my arms to prevent further fidgeting

Rin reassured me "Don't worry, we should be fine! I think we can both pass if we give it our best."

"I really hope so.." I mumbled, stealing a glance at Guy and Genma who were talking close by

Rin acknowledged it "They're not bad teammates, those two. Even though we argue sometimes, we can still work pretty well together.."

I gained a look of slight dismay as I replied to her "My teammates are good, but man... they don't get along too well with each other. It kinda gets on my nerves sometimes."

"Obito and Kakashi... I hope they can be friends someday." Rin mused optimistically

I pondered the thought with a bit of hope "Yeah.."

A stray memory prodded at me like a pin _'Unless..'_

As I shook my head, I heard grumbles and mutterings-someone was wading through the crowd to us. It was Kakashi; Rin somewhat adopted my nervous body language. I patted her shoulder in sympathy.

"Have either of you seen Obito?" asked the grey-haired prodigy, causing Rin to slump in disappointment

I raised an eyebrow "No... Shouldn't he be here by now?" I peered through the mix of people for our teammate

 _'I'm pretty sure Obito wouldn't be late for **this..** '_

Luckily, I wasn't worried for long. Yet again the air was filled with sounds of disgruntlement as people were nudged aside by the boy we were seeking. Unfortunately, his presence affected my anxiety further-I decided to remain silent to prevent embarrassment.

"Hi guys-" Obito was about to greet us cheerfully, but stopped when he saw Kakashi

The rivals stared analytically at each other as Rin and I paused.

After several seconds of silence, Kakashi broke it "You're not late."

"Yeah, so? I've been training really hard for this exam, and I'm ready!" Obito pointed to himself in a gesture of cockiness

"With your current skills, I doubt it." Kakashi retorted, shrugging

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"See what I meant, Rin?" I whispered as the rivals continued their visual and verbal battle

Normally, I would break off such arguments when they occurred. But at the moment, I wasn't really feeling up to it. My body and mind were permeated with anxiety, sapping me of useful reasoning. I decided to avoid the situation to some degree by staring at the building entrance-in retrospect, not a very good idea. The banner above it just reminded me of the exam.

After drifting my eyesight from one boring object to the next, I at last began to notice the silence stretching between us. Sweat beaded on my forehead as I willed myself to break the awkward moment.

 _'God, where's a tumbleweed when you need one?'_

To my relief, seconds later we were at last called into the building. A man wearing the typical chunin getup opened the doors and announced that we were to enter. Some of the people milling around began to move.

"Let's go, guys!" I called, taking the chance to ease the tension

We joined the flow of entrants quietly-at last, it was time to begin the exam.

* * *

I flicked glances around the classroom I and the others were now seated in. It was a large-ish room, long desks arranged in rows and facing a blackboard. Lights on the ceiling hummed quietly, illuminating the scene below. A few instructors stood around the room, watching the students and glancing around every so often. We were currently doing the written part of the Chunin Exams-I could see a few rows in front of me that poor Obito was quite stressed, clutching his head in his hands while the rest of us scribbled frantically. The rasping of pencils-on-paper was continuous and unceasing, like some kind of urgent background music.

My previous anxiety had dulled to jittery boredom. The written test was difficult, but manageable-it just wasn't that interesting. I glanced around again, my leg jiggling under the desk habitually.

My eyes snapped to the left as I heard a scraping sound-Kakashi got up from his seat, the first one to finish.

"Finished already?" wondered the head instructor

"Yes."

 _'Not surprising. He's pretty good at this stuff.'_

My eyes returned to Obito, who now looked even more worried than before. I sighed softly, empathetic. Deciding to help Obito out, I grabbed a piece of paper from my pocket and scribbled some answers on it along with a note:

I'll help you out if you need it. Tests are so boring, right?

Cautiously, I scrunched it into a ball and rolled it forward under the desks. I broke out in a nervous sweat while attempting to be inconspicuous, terrified I'd be called on at any moment.

I held my breath as I returned to writing on the test sheet, peeking out of the corner of my eye so I didn't arouse suspicion. When I saw Obito was writing, I breathed out in a sigh of relief. Fortunately I appeared to have gotten away with it, as nobody mentioned me when time passed. After I was finished, I handed my paper in and waited for Obito to finish his. We'd been told that after the written test we'd go see the results-who passed and who failed. I was fairly sure I could make it, but again paranoia diminished my confidence.

Obito was the last to finish, so some minutes after he handed his test in we both had to run to catch up with the others.

After turning down a couple of corridors we skidded to a stop in front of a board, where the others were looking at the results paper that had just been put up. Some of my worries left me with a sigh as I saw my name written on the sheet around the middle.

"I made it.." Obito and I shared a smile for a moment, before he looked back at the sheet and his expression soured

My eyes scanned the paper to find the spot he was looking at-it was Kakashi's name around the top.

"Well, what did you expect?" came the voice attached to said name from behind us

 _'Speak of the devil..'_

Obito glared at him, then began to argue animatedly.

"That was just a written test!" turning to face the sheet, he examined it

"I'll find my name, just you wait..."

Obito's expression gradually became more flustered as he scanned from top to bottom. When he hadn't found his name at the end of the list, he bowed his head with a defeated sigh. I poked him to get his attention, then pointed at a note that had just been scrawled below the list.

"Look there, Obito.."

Somewhat comically, a last-minute sentence announced Obito's name.

THE FOLLOWING HAS BEEN ACCEPTED DUE TO A VACANCY:

Obito Uchiha

Like a wilting flower being rejuvenated, Obito's posture changed until he was jumping in the air with joy.

"I did it!"

Kakashi chimed in with a vague insult "A vacancy, huh? That's so like you.."

Seeing Obito about to retaliate, I waved my hands

"Guys, not today.." moving to put one hand on my hip, I tried to be motivational "It's the Chunin exam, for Pete's sake! We've gotta get along and work together so we can pass."

Before the conversation could continue, we were interrupted by a stern voice. A gaunt-faced instructor was looking at us crossly, arms folded.

"There's no time to be celebrating! If you passed, go to your assigned classroom. The second part of the exam will be explained.." the group of genin groaned and began shuffling down the corridor, myself included

* * *

My team and several others were seated in another classroom. Each team sat together, forming rows of three facing the instructor. I noticed a lot of the other genin had postures indicating their feelings-some were tense, others fidgety, a couple were unreadable-Genma was slouching casually across from me. Kakashi had his arms folded, sitting straight. Obito had one arm on the desk, listening with interest. I was leaning back on my seat, tiredly regarding the instructor as he spoke. He was rigid, hands behind his back and looking stoic-he reminded me of an army commander.

"Part two will commence three days from now. This will test your physical skills. Use everything you have learned about taijutsu and ninjutsu to get through this exam!"

"All right, I got this!" whispered Obito with a grin and a fist-pump

"However, this test pits your team against others." continued the instructor-Obito sat up in surprise

"It's not an individual competition?"

"Obito, were you even listening earlier?" I muttered with slight exasperation

He wasn't listening then, either; he turned to Kakashi with disdain

"Hey Kakashi, you'd better not drag us down!"

Kakshi retaliated "Right back at you."

When Obito stood up with an angry exclamation, I decided I was sick of all the arguing. I stood and grabbed both boys' collars in each hand, yanking them forward.

I spoke in a cool, low voice "Right, guys. We've _really_ gotta shape up for this exam, and if you keep going at each other like cats and dogs.. We. Will. _Fail._ Okay?"

Kakashi stared at me with a frown; Obito blushed in embarrassment. Taking these as replies, I released them. They mirrored one another-arms folded, eyes looking away.

"Don't be late.." muttered Kakashi

"I know!" grumbled Obito, turning away from his rival

As the air stayed heavy with unspoken barbs, I adopted Genma's casual pose.

 _'Three days..'_

* * *

Over the course of the first two days, I stuck to my usual training routine. Get up reasonably early, have breakfast, go to the training fields, grab lunch then continue training, come home in the evening for dinner.

At the end of the third day, I found myself viewing the village from a scenic altitude-that is, I was standing on top of The First Hokage's stone image. Okay, scratch that, I was sitting on it-after the journey preceding my arrival at the monument I was rather sore.

As for how I ended up on that journey, it involved three things: clothes shopping, a coin toss and the color green.

I was taking a break from training for lunch. I was also planning on getting myself some new shirts, as a few of my current ones were getting a bit tatty. One of the lighter burdens of being a shinobi.

I went to the clothes store first, since it was closer to the training fields. It was a small building that opened out to the street, like many other shops. It was mostly for second-hand stuff, not the sort of place you'd go for a fitting or expensive raiments. Inside, it was host to several bins of various clothing items and a single changing booth wedged in a back corner.

I examined one small bin for shirts, grabbed three that looked to be my size. I lined up at the checkout counter, taking note of who was in front of me.

It wasn't a huge surprise to see Might Guy; he came to the store every now and then since his intense way of training would wear down his clothes rather quickly. What _did_ surprise me was the garment he was holding.

 _'Look out, Konoha. The Green Beast has found his stripes.'_

After the man in front of him had paid for a pair of shoes, Guy speedily folded the green jumpsuit he had and placed it on the checkout countertop. The store owner raised an eyebrow at his choice of purchase.

"I would like to buy this amazing outfit, please!" Guy exclaimed, holding out a number of dollar bills

The store owner took the dollar bills, counting them and glancing at the suit's price tag. Satisfied with the payment, he passed Guy the green jumpsuit. He didn't realize the significance of the gesture for the overjoyed kid.

So, he was rather surprised when said boy glomped him rather emotionally. A sparkling sunset materialized behind them, god knows how-it's a mystery I have yet to solve. The man who was walking out with his shoes had paused at the door, watching the strange exchange curiously. Guy was in the process of thanking the helpless shopkeep, tears streaming down his face and accentuating the background's effect.

"I-uh, appreciate it, kid, but I've got a customer waiting." interrupted the shopkeeper, pointing at me for emphasis

Guy paused in his gratitude "Oh, of course sir, you must return to your important duties.."

The shopkeep wheezed out a breath as he was released from the tight hold, the mysterious sunset vanishing as fast as it had appeared. Guy zipped right into the small changing booth, presumably to put on his newly acquired fashion statement.

"Ah, miss?"

I blinked when the shopkeep prompted me; I was caught up in a ridiculous daydream in the wake of what I'd just witnessed. It continued in the background of my thoughts as I paid for my new-old? shirts.

"You really have no idea what you've done.." I mused out loud, smiling merrily as I turned to leave

The shopkeep simply looked at me skeptically, before the sharp ring of a bell alerted him to a new patron. The same sound accompanied my departure. I tucked my recent purchases under one arm, intending to grab lunch, drop off the shirts at my house, then head back to the training fields. Unfortunately, that's when my schedule for the day took a nose-dive.

* * *

Once again I heard the ringing of bells, instinctively turning to the sound's origin. Guy was already changed, trademark blinding grin working in tandem with his soon-to-be-trademark outfit. I decided to reaffirm his fashion choices-who knows what could happen if Might Guy never wore his green suit? Probably nothing concerning. But, screw it, I wasn't gonna take that chance.

"Nice outfit. It suits you!" I gave a double thumbs-up in what I hoped was an encouraging gesture

Guy met my gaze with an oddly intense stare.

"So, you approve of my attire, my eternal rival? Well, I'm glad. Because..."

There was a pregnant pause; I was waiting for Guy to say something dramatic.

"I think we should go test it out!" he exclaimed jovially, pumping a fist in the air

"Well good luck with-wait, _we?_ " I paused mid-sentence in surprise

"Of course! It's been a while since our youthful spirits have clashed."

On one hand, I had to take my shirts home and continue training. On the other hand, competing against Guy would be much better than training alone. I considered what to do for a moment, then got an idea of how to settle on a decision.

"Wait a moment, we can resolve this the old-fashioned way."

I dug around in my pockets with one hand, quickly pulling out a small copper coin. It was of different design to the coins I used to know-it had a minute square hole in it's center, for one thing. On one side, the hole was circled by a pair of dragons; on the other, the hole had a shuriken next to it's left and right side. Characters of varying significance were also stamped onto the metal.

"Heads or tails?" I asked, balancing the circle of metal atop my hand

"Tails." replied Guy automatically; we'd done coin-tossing before

There was a brief metallic resonance as I flipped the coin with a flick of my thumb. It somersaulted fleetingly, before being secured on the back of my hand with my other palm. I lifted it to see the outcome; twin dragons revealed themselves. Tails.

 _'Well, there goes my afternoon.'_

"Tails. So, what's involved in testing out this new suit?" I asked, genuinely curious

"The challenge is simple: a race."

 _'Hm, okay. Doesn't seem-'_

"To the Hokage monument!" Guy finished, pointing at the stone visages high above the village

 _'Um.'_

The idea was a bit disconcerting. Sure, I liked to admire the artisan carvings from afar, but I'd never considered actually climbing all the way up there. But hey, if a 12-year-old Naruto could not only get up there but _vandalize_ the faces to boot, I could too. Not the vandalism part though-while humorous, that would be a bad idea.

"Okay. I'm in." I nodded, briefly pondering what I was getting into

We did a ritual fist-bump, before crouching into positions for a running start. My second-hand shirts were tied around my waist, since running with them tucked under my arm would've been rather awkward.

The pair of us had nabbed a bystander to start us off after a minute-even after accepting the random request, the fellow still looked rather confused. I didn't blame him.

The young man awkwardly cleared his throat before beginning the countdown

"Okay, um. 3... 2... 1.."

He paused to cough; my rival and I were frozen, completely focused on what we were about to do.

"GO!"

The moment the man finished saying go, both of us shot forward. I briefly heard him cough again behind me, likely due to the cloud of dust we'd left in our wake.

We were racing side-by-side, arms trailing behind us in typical running fashion. We were headed towards the side of the mountain, where a series of steps lead to the Hokage monument. It wasn't a smooth racetrack, though. Both of us had plenty of obstacles, ranging from fences to civilians. All of them posed different problems.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed, suddenly ducking under a plank of wood shouldered by two men

I stumbled as I recovered from bending backwards so quickly, noticing my opponent was getting a lead on me. Absently blowing a bit of hair out of my line of sight, I veered to the left and ran atop the rail of a bridge. Guy was nowhere to be seen now; I decided to just push on and try to make it to the finish line first.

I hopped off the bridge rail and back onto the ground, weaving through a couple of passerby clumsily. Spotting an approaching crowd of yet more people, I decided it would be better to just go up higher and avoid them. It was a stupid idea.

I started by jumping onto a nearby awning; the uneven tarp almost made me slip off. After regaining my balance, I hastily clambered up onto the roof of the building. Mostly by utilizing windowsills and pipes Assassin's Creed style. Like in said video game, a few gawking people were wondering why I was trying to scale a building. I ended up with a few bruises after making it to the thankfully flat roof.

I broke into a run again, preparing to jump across onto the roof of the building in front of me. I did so relatively well, since it was below me and there was only a small gap. No, it was the _next_ jump that put me off doing the race above the village.

Heart pumping, I sprinted and got ready to jump over the larger gap I saw coming up. I hopped up onto a vent to gain more distance; bad idea. I overshot my jump and painfully skidded onto the gravelly concrete of the new roof.

I brushed off the dust and stones on my face and clothes. I realized that with the varying building structures and heights it would be faster to run through the streets below.

So, I gave up on jumping to my destination and carefully hopped down onto the ground. I continued to dodge villagers and swerve around corners for about a minute. Luckily, my path was becoming wider and clearer as I neared the mountain. After a few more minutes of dodging pedestrians and various architecture, I made it to the base of the steps.

I stopped, panting, to study them. I gulped as my eyes followed how high up they went; it was going to be a long uphill run. Squinting, I could see something green moving a ways above me. I was losing.

Steeling myself and sucking in a deep breath, I started my ascent up the stairs. It wasn't so bad to start, as the steps were essentially the same and I managed to slip into a rhythm. There are drawbacks to rhythms, however. You get so comfortable in them that you forget to notice things you otherwise would have.

Thus, I missed a broken step and tripped. My body was jostled and prodded by the stone as I slid backwards; mercifully, I managed to stop myself from falling all the way down. Deciding further recklessness would lead to broken bones, I proceeded forward with caution.

* * *

After around two tiring minutes I at last made it to the top of the steps. A narrow dirt path stretched before me, surrounded by bushes and grass. Continuing forward at a jog, I looked around and noticed another set of steps to my right. They appeared to lead over the top of the mountain, to the Hokage faces. The idea of even more stairs was almost nauseating, but compared to the ones I'd just overcome there weren't many of them.

I pushed on arduously until, at last, I made it to the finish line. How did I know this was it? Guy was calmly stretching on the carved stone in front of me.

I let out a long sigh and promptly slumped onto the somewhat round rock. I rolled my shoulders while sitting down, a measly effort at mimicking Guy's set of rapid and complex contortions.

"Well... looks like you beat me. Congrats." I puffed, futilely wiping sweat from my face

Guy did a thumbs-up "Nice Guy" style "This is indeed the perfect outfit for me. I shall wear it from now on, so that my inner youth may blossom to it's fullest!"

"Okay.. but, be sure to get a couple more of those suits. It'd be really gross if you just wore that one and didn't wash it." I said, only half-joking

I didn't get a response to the question. Instead, my friend walked over and sat down beside me. He stretched out a fist, leading me to automatically do the same.

"Thank you for the race, my eternal rival." said Guy with sincerity

Grins flashed across our faces as our fists came together, signifying the end of another challenge. Guy was already up again after half a minute, intending to head back down and continue his strenuous training regime. I decided to remain on top of the rocky visage for a bit. After all the effort of getting up there I didn't want to leave too quickly. The view was pretty amazing as well.

After waving goodbye to the green-clad boy, I lay down and ruminated on how the day had gone. A sudden grumble accompanied by gnawing hunger reminded me I'd forgotten about getting lunch. Thoughts of midday caused my eyes to trickle across the horizon; judging by the sun's descent, it was the afternoon.

 _'Hmm, no point in training after that race. I'm pretty sure it's not illegal to sit up on the Hokage faces... at least, I hope it's not.'_

I sat up again, rifling through one of my pouches. I was relieved to find I still had some emergency snacks on me, quickly pulling out a rice ball. Throwing etiquette out the window, so to speak, I began gobbling it rather noisily. I wiped some stray bits of rice off my face after finishing, glad to have filled some of the void. I felt oddly contented sitting way up high above the village. It truly was an amazing sight; in the sunlight the buildings boasted soft, warm colors, interwoven with a menagerie of movement from all their inhabitants. Surrounding all of this were the leafy trees which the village's name was derived from. They too were moving thanks to the wind, though less obviously than the people. It really was a living, breathing landscape.

 _'Incredible.'_

* * *

The day after my little misadventure, I stood with the other exam participants in front of a wire fence. On it was a banner reading "Chunin Exam Part Two, Team Competition". We had been separated into our teams; worryingly, it was just me and Kakashi in ours.

"I knew he'd be late." sighed my grey-haired comrade, folding his arms

"He'll be here. I'm pretty sure.." I was picking at my jacket sleeves anxiously

 _'C'mon, Obito, of all the times to be late..'_

Fifteen minutes crawled by-it was time for our match. Our team was still just two, no sign of the third. I was distracted from my frantic thoughts when I read who our opponents were:

Obito, Kakashi, Yoku

vs

Genma, Guy, Rin

 _'What are the odds? But then... Genma, I've been looking for an excuse to really fight you.'_ my mouth curled into an eager smirk

The smirk was gone later, when I stood waiting once again. Kakashi and I were now in front of a gated fence, in a clearing. An instructor was behind us.

"Team Minato, you have five minutes left. Will he make it?" he asked with a glance at the nearby clock

I gnawed my lip, unable to keep still. I was still hopeful, at least a little bit.

"He should be here in a minute." I ground out for what must have been the third time

"If time runs out, you'll be automatically disqualified." despite his composed stature, I could hear the growing impatience in his voice

"I knew it! Didn't I tell you?" Kakashi exclaimed angrily, gesturing to the clock "You're too easy on him. That's why he'll never break this habit of being late!" despite his scolding, I kept faith

"He'll _be_ here. He's probably run into someone.. I bet you he'll come skidding in at the last second!" the last bit was an attempt to inject some humor into the atmosphere; it failed

"I wouldn't be so sure." Kakashi turned his head and closed his eyes in annoyance

Several minutes passed-the clock clicked as it struck 12.

"Three pm. It's time to begin." sighed the instructor

"Damn it, all because of _him!_ " Kakashi growled

Moments later, I heard the distinct sound of rapid footsteps. The corners of my mouth lifted in a smile.

"Three, two, one.."

"Sorry I'm late!" Obito yelled, running towards the gate in a desperate sprint

Kakashi sighed, my posture relaxed.

"I told you.. the last second!" I quipped; Kakashi shook his head, then pointed furiously to our puffing teammate

"Hurry up, before we're disqualified!"

 **That's the end of the first half for the Chunin exam! The next chapter shouldn't take as long to be uploaded as this one, I just need to write in one more scene for it and then edit it. I hope you guys liked it, sorry again for taking so long. Also wow, the story's past 100 favs and follows! I sincerely thank all of you who've looked at this, your support is very encouraging. Thanks again, and see you next chapter!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello hello, here's chapter 11! Thanks again to anybody who's left a fav, follow or review, and anyone who's just enjoying reading this. This chapter covers the second half of the Chunin exam, while the next few chapters will be a sort of interlude before events start picking up again. I'll do my best to make those chapters interesting to read though. Sorry if my writing of combat isn't that good, I've not really written it before. Some parts of this chapter may also be a bit cheesy. I did have a lot of fun writing a particular scene in this chapter, which probably won't be hard for you guys to guess. I know I said this wouldn't take so long to be posted, but due to my computer being on the fritz and one scene becoming two it took longer than expected.**

 **Thanks to tentaclecat for the constructive criticism, I'll edit the older chapter and try to improve my future writing.**

Our team faced our assigned opponents in the forest, a referee presiding over the match. All of us were anxiously awaiting the battle-Genma and I were trying to burn holes in one another with our glares, Obito and Guy were both tensed, and Rin was looking a little apprehensively at Kakashi. My eyebrow twitched when I heard a clicking sound next to me. Unwilling to break my stare, I peered out of the corner of my eye-Obito had a lolly in his mouth, it would seem.

"We will now begin part two, the team competition. This is the preliminary qualifier!" said the referee, holding up his left arm

After a few seconds he brought it down again "Begin!"

As soon as the word left his mouth, all of us leapt into action.

Genma crouched, Rin formed a handsign and Guy came running straight at us. As Kakashi and I prepared to meet him, Obito surprised us by sliding in front. He prepared handsigns for a jutsu.

"Fire Style: Fireball-"

What followed next struck a blow to our team, but was pretty hilarious.

As he tried to perform the jutsu, the lolly Obito had in his mouth fell into his throat and he began choking on it. Guy luckily unknowingly saved him by delivering a solid kick that knocked the lolly out-along with Obito. I was snorting at an attempt to contain a fit of giggling, simultaneously lamenting our teammates' misfortune.

I was pulled back to reality when I heard Genma say something:

"Earth Style: Mudslide Jutsu!"

The ground began to shake under our feet. Kakashi and I leapt to the side as it bulged and rippled. I prepared a jutsu of my own in retaliation; Kakashi moved to block Guy charging at us again. I glanced back at the unstable ground, noticing Obito was still unconscious-and getting sucked into the earth. I gave up on my jutsu and ran to help him instead. Genma came towards me as I pulled Obito out of the dirt, kunai in hand. Rin was just behind him.

Growling in frustration, I dropped Obito and formed handsigns as fast as I could.

"Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu!"

Rin dodged most of it, getting caught on her shoulder by the high-pressure stream. Genma was less nimble, being hit more directly. I heard Kakashi clashing with Guy behind me and realized I'd need to get Obito back on his feet. So, I prepared yet another jutsu.

"Water Style: Raging Waves Jutsu!"

Water flowed out of my mouth this time, washing down the area and turning the dirt to slippery mud. I grabbed Obito and shook him frantically, hearing wet footsteps coming up behind me.

"Come on, wake up!" I hissed

He opened his eyes a bit-at which point I turned around to deflect a barrage of shuriken aimed at us. I cursed when one cut my hand, the stress of the moment degrading my skill. Obito was awake now, getting up slowly-too slowly.

"Wha-" he formed half a word before I yanked him hard to the left, narrowly avoiding a kunai whizzing towards us

"Get a move on, lazybones!" I admonished, prompting Obito to run after Guy

The side of my head flared in pain at a sudden impact-a punch threw me sliding across the wet ground.

I frowned as I recognized Genma's smirk in front of me. I got up, pausing to wipe mud from my face, and ran at him with a kunai. The harsh sounds of metal-on-metal permeated the air around the pair of us, sparks illuminating our inner and outer anger. I vaguely noticed Guy was down and Kakashi was facing Rin with Obito. I smiled with satisfaction when I cut across Genma's arm; Genma slashed my already-injured hand in retaliation, rendering it useless for the remainder of the fight. Annoyed, I moved the hand behind my back and kicked at Genma's legs.

Distracted by his triumph, he failed to dodge it completely and became unbalanced. At that point we'd dropped our kunai and resorted to punches and kicks.

* * *

At the end of that part of the exam both our teams had managed to pass. We were granted a couple days rest to recover from our injuries and prepare for the next part of the exam.

Kakashi had bruises but was still in good shape. Obito and I were beat-up, marred with cuts and scrapes. All of us were muddy to an extent thanks to the conditions of the terrain we'd been on. When the three of us stood together again outside the exam building, I decided to pull Kakashi away before another argument erupted.

"What are you doing?" he asked irritably as I grabbed his arm

"Making sure you don't explode at Obito." I replied, attempting to drag him

"He could have cost us the match!" exclaimed Kakashi angrily, resisting my pulling

"Yes, but you guys arguing all the time could cost us the exam." I sighed and let Kakashi go, turning to face him

"Look, just-I don't know, channel your anger by glaring at him or something." I shrugged, too worn out to say anything more useful

Avoiding the look Kakashi sent me, I walked back to Obito-or where I'd last seen him. I raised an eyebrow and glanced around, wondering where the Uchiha could have gone. I found him after a few seconds-talking to Rin. I slumped forward with a sigh, mumbling something about being slow.

I heard the familiar scraping sound of sandals hitting the ground behind me-my remaining teammate walked off with a hand in his pocket.

"Oh well.." I sighed, walking over to a wooden bench in the shade and sitting down on it

As I looked around at the other genin, I spotted Rin and Obito disappearing into the village. My attention lost focus when I hissed at a sudden stab of pain; I'd forgotten about my injured hand. The blood from it had dried and was encrusted around the cut along with some mud. I grabbed a cloth from my pocket and wet it with my water bottle. After cleaning the wound I took some bandage from one of my pouches and wrapped it around my palm. I was without my jugs or scroll, not risking using them during the exam. The pain ebbed a bit, but did not disappear. Not all of it was physical.

Obito and Rin were gone now, along with most of the other genin. In a few days' time, the teams who'd passed the second part of the exam would split into singles and be paired into one-on-one matches. I tapped the bench's arm as my mind wandered absently. Rin was probably patching up Obito-I thought back, vaguely recalling their interactions in one instance.

 _'Didn't he like... tell her about his dreams or something? Great.'_

I rubbed my eyes, suddenly feeling rather tired. There was nothing more to do at the moment since the exam results needed to be organized. I sighed, then closed my eyes and adjusted my position on the bench, deciding I'd had enough of being conscious for the day.

* * *

I sank into my mind as my body rested, experiencing and re-experiencing the jumbled knowledge contained within.

I was meandering down a pathway in the village. Buildings surrounded me on either side, hazy and unfocused. I turned to the right to see Ichiraku Ramen in front of me. I pulled out a wallet; rather, a wad of credit cards wrapped in a scrap of leather.

"Do you take Eftpos?" I asked, holding the wad in front of me

"Yes." answered Teuchi, his hat upside-down

Teuchi grabbed the wad, then smashed it on the counter with a hammer. He gathered up the shattered bits of plastic while I sat down. Someone was seated on either side of me, I noticed.

I turned to the right first. Shisui was enjoying a bowl of spicy noodles. Weirdly, his forehead protector was missing. In it's place was a circlet, composed of a giant, hollowed-out chocolate chip cookie. Judging by the crumbs stuck in his hair it had been put there recently. He didn't say anything, nor acknowledge my presence-his eyes were closed.

I looked to my left; Naruto, appearing be around 10, was sitting eating five bowls of ramen at once. He had an empty bowl on his head, obscuring his eyes. He managed to finish the bowls in seconds somehow. Teuchi approached him; Naruto held out a chubby frog.

"Put it on my tab." he stated

Teuchi nodded. The frog's tongue shot out, sticking to his face. The man turned back to prepare more ramen with the frog clinging to his cheek.

Suddenly incredibly impatient, I banged both fists on the counter and demanded where my order was. Teuchi spun around to place a bowl in front of me, the frog no longer on his face.

The bowl contained noodles mixed in with bits of my credit cards and some dollar bills. Oddly satisfied, I began to eat with a plastic fork that'd materialized.

The background gradually melted away. Within seconds it was just me, the counter and the chairs surrounded by black. My bowl had vanished; I turned my head to look for it.

Glancing to the right, I saw someone new sitting next to me. Itachi held a dango stick, looking somewhat blurred and smudged. His eyes were closed like Shisui's had been, but he was facing me. Unlike Shisui, blood was steadily leaking from the closed lids.

I blinked. Then flinched. Itachi's eyes weren't bleeding now. But the dango stick was different; the three dumplings on it had been replaced by three eyes. Each eye had the appearance of a regular sharingan to begin with, swirling into different patterns every few seconds. I opened my mouth to say something in protest, but what came out just further disturbed me.

"Are you going to eat that?"

Itachi shoved me hard as a reply. I fell onto the black ground with an audible thud. When I looked up again nothing was there. Nothing but me.

The ground started to change in texture, melting. Foggy silhouettes appeared as I struggled to move, each looking down at me with a pair of dimly glowing eyes. I became enveloped in the sticky blackness while my limbs thrashed. I tried to speak, but even though my mouth was uncovered I could not move it.

One of the silhouettes stepped towards me, crouched to my level. It's form seemed to be continuously moving and shifting. It reached down, covered my face firmly with a hand of shadows. I began to suffocate, paralyzed and unmoving. My panic increased until, when I could feel no more, I relaxed.

* * *

I jolted awake-only to be greeted by the darkness of night. As it turns out, sleeping on a stiff wooden bench for long periods of time is rather uncomfortable. I got up from my lying position with a groan, stretching and popping my stiff limbs. The area around me was devoid of people, except one woman hefting some sort of small crate. I was feeling a little drowsy and heavy from the improper rest, so I merely stayed sitting on the bench.

I ran a hand through my hair and pulled it back when I felt the dried mud still stuck in it. I looked down at my clothes-sweaty and mud-caked, just like the rest of me.

 _'I'm such a slob. Why did I just go to sleep on a bench, anyway? All it did was give me a weird dream and sore muscles.'_

Wrinkling my nose in disgust, I stood up and patted myself down to get rid of some of the dirt. My hand itched; I scratched at the bandages absently. A sense of calm gradually washed over me. The village was quiet at night, save for the expected ambiance of nature.

I squinted up at the thin sliver of moon in the sky for a moment, thinking. Then I put my bandaged hand in my pocket and started for home, humming a random tune that was whispering at the edge of my thoughts.

* * *

I hung over the exam arena's rails slightly, looking down at Obito and Guy. Despite my sunken mood some days prior, I was ready to cheer on my teammate and best friend. Don't get me wrong, I didn't want Guy to lose either-but in the end, my favor was weighed towards Obito.

I noticed Obito gesture at Guy-was that a thumbs down?-who afterwards appeared confused. I shook my head in amusement when Obito got angry at Guy, then decided to snap him out of it with some motivation.

"Hey, Obito! Kick ass out there, you can do it!" I yelled as loudly as I could, earning glances from a few people

I didn't notice them, however, continuing to wave. Obito stopped in his ranting and looked in my direction-warmth glowed within me and reddened my face when he grinned back. He said something in return, his determination appearing to be bolstered.

I was abruptly snapped out of my floaty mood with a light smack on the head from the person adjacent to me.

"Owww... what was that for?!" I grumbled, rubbing my head and peering at the culprit

"Volume." said Kakashi simply, arms already folded again

I just shook my head and returned my eyes to the match. I leaned forward on the rails in anticipation as the referee raised his red flag, then brought it down.

Obito was still looking at me for some reason, and his lack of focus earned him a kick from Guy. Not unlike the last time it happened he was knocked out. I winced as Obito was launched backwards, his goggles tumbling through the air and landing on the dusty ground. The referee raised his flag to Guy-he was the victor.

"What is he doing?" wondered Kakashi in dismay, hand on his cheek

"Aargh, dammit what did I _do?!_ " I exclaimed in a panic, clutching my hair as I beheld my defeated teammate

* * *

About a quarter of an hour later, Obito was leaning dejectedly on the rails across from me. He had a white pad bandaged over his left eye and wasn't wearing his goggles or forehead protector. Kakashi was below us in the arena, fighting Guy. The pair were in near-constant motion, trading blows swiftly. I wasn't really looking at him though-I kept glancing at Obito, trying to come up with an apology. Noticing he seemed to be looking at something with a miserable expression, I followed his gaze. It was Rin, who was cheering enthusiastically for Kakashi.

Obito's eye reflected a pain I myself was familiar with. I'd never seen him at such a low point.

 _'How can she not notice him looking at her like that?'_

I felt my face shift into concern, and before I knew it my body was shifting too.

"Hey."

My friend flinched in surprise as I placed a hand on his shoulder. He raised his head to meet my gaze, the single pupil somewhat disconcerting.

"It's okay. I know how it feels, believe me. I'm here if you ever need someone to lean on, 'kay?" I spoke gently, a smile crawling across my face on impulse

Something passed between us, then. Like some sort of invisible flash-here and gone in a split-second. Obito's uncovered eye seemed to widen a bit.

The moment abruptly ended when I realized how close I was and clumsily sidled into apologizing.

"U-uh, also sorry about before-it was my fault you got kicked, I-I distracted you and... uh.." I took my hand off Obito's shoulder, rubbing my arm nervously

Obito spoke up quietly after a few seconds "It's.. it's alright. It was nice to know somebody was cheering for me up there."

He smiled at me, once again invoking a cocktail of feelings from within. Most distinctive was a sense of belonging, like being a puzzle piece fit into just the right spot. I decided that for once, I wasn't going to just wander away.

I leaned on the rail next to Obito and watched Kakashi's fight absentmindedly. Silence stretched between us, though it was a comfortable one. It didn't smother or stifle, but was simply a long moment of peace and pondering. I found myself almost disappointed when the referee raised his flag to signal Kakashi's victory.

* * *

Kakashi came up to join Obito and I after a few minutes, still scuffed from his fight.

"Well, looks like it's my turn." I sighed, getting off the rail

We'd read the order of battles before entering the arena; it was going to be me against Genma. Since both of us shared mutual feelings of antagonism, I could tell it wouldn't be a simple clash.

I made my way down the stairs Kakashi had just emerged from, already feeling anxious. The battle would ultimately decide whether I would pass or fail the Chunin Exam after all.

I came to the bottom of the stairs and found myself looking out into the fighting area through a small square tunnel. I wrung my hands, slick with sweat, and took a few long, deep breaths. I was ready-I _had_ to be ready.

* * *

The referee called us in quickly. I erased querying thoughts from my mind and just focused on moving my body to point A. Sooner than I expected Genma and I were standing face-to-face, just a few feet apart.

There was no point in taunting words now. We just stood there and _glared_.

Seconds passed in festering quiet. A sudden flash of red signaled it's end.

As if awoken from a reverie, we burst to action. I struck first, throwing a flurry of shuriken at my target to test what I was up against. Genma ducked and blocked them with relative ease.

 _'Okay, so a frontal ranged attack isn't effective. Best to throw projectiles when he's moving or distracted.'_

Genma started to form a jutsu. I braced myself to move or block whatever was coming.

"Earth Style: Flying Stones!"

Many small rocks were gouged out of the ground, rising in the air. Pillars of dust accompanied the sudden upheaval and invaded my nose and eyes. Through a fit of coughing I could make out projectiles heading right for me.

Since the converging stones were spread out it wasn't easy to dodge. I opted to counter instead.

"Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu!"

A stream of liquid shot forward, pushing away the rocks in my immediate path. A few stray ones managed to clip my shoulder regardless. I stopped the flow of water fast, just in time to notice my opponent had moved.

Genma flashed to my side and delivered a hard kick to my abdomen. I was flung across the ground, sliding painfully over some of the small stones that'd previously missed their target.

Though a bit winded I was quick to get up. I didn't want to give Genma another opening to attack. Hearing the rapid approach of my opponent, I decided to try a new tactic. My hands were a blur, the movements well practiced.

"Water Style: Starch Syrup Trap!"

The viscous fluid I shot landed in a wide puddle, right around where I'd aimed it.

"Getting slow, flat-chest?" remarked Genma upon noticing the attack had missed him

 _'Nope. I'm getting smart.'_

I formed another handsign and focused. I'd trained this particular jutsu so I could manipulate the sticky syrup more easily, meaning I could take opponents by surprise. Luckily, that's precisely what happened this time around.

Genma tensed as a tendril of water snagged his leg and quickly snaked up towards the rest of his body. He attempted to jump away, but the syrup held him with an iron grip. I ran towards my trapped nemesis, kunai in hand.

But he was not to be underestimated. Genma had a few tricks of his own.

Working fast before his arms were completely covered, he raced through a set of handsigns.

"Earth Style: Mud Shot!"

Almost as soon as he finished, a large glob of mud was expelled from his mouth straight at me. I was unable to dodge-it hit me full in the face with a disgusting splat. Vision obscured, I grabbed at the muck and tried to wipe it away.

It must have been an amusing sight for the crowd. Both of us were immobilized by a sticky mess, struggling to get in a hit. But this period of impasse did not last long. As I finally managed to remove most of the mud from my face, I'd lost control of the syrup trap. It was slipping off of Genma alarmingly fast.

We came free from our bindings at almost the same time, abruptly charging after one another. We collided with a flurry of taijutsu, both thoroughly ticked off and eager to deal damage through close combat. After half a minute of back-and-forth pummeling our strategy changed again.

Genma suddenly jumped away after aiming one last kick at my chest. It knocked most of the wind out of me, as well as adding what was sure to be another bruise. I tried not to wince each time I took a breath, pain flaring in various parts of my battered body.

After regaining a sufficient amount of oxygen I looked up at my opponent. I wiped sweat from my brow as my eyes regained focus, then gasped. Evidently those precious few seconds I took for a breather were vitally important-it showed in Genma's smirk of satisfaction. As well as the final hand-sign he'd just formed.

"Earth Style: Antlion Jutsu!"

It was too late to move. In mere moments my feet were stuck to the ground and sinking fast. The area of dirt I was standing on turned to quicksand-like mud and left little room to manouver. Regardless of whether I would've tried something, an involuntary sort of paralysis had overtaken me. A strange roar filled my ears as I sank deeper and deeper, drowning out almost everything else. Unease came next, a brief prelude to a chilling fear that seeped into my very bones. I was confused by it-this was not the first time I had been trapped nor would it be the last. The fear was irrational, almost primal. Yet it shackled me as well as chains of steel, dragging me down further.

The mud was up to my neck now and showed no signs of stopping. The fear was almost overwhelming.

But when my mouth was covered, the fear seemed to slowly recede. Thought came to a crawl and my muscles relaxed. A memory came to me, unbidden.

* * *

 _White. That was the first thought to enter Yoku's mind as she woke that particular morning. She was five years old and excited to go explore the freshly made winter wonderland outside._

 _She quietly observed the snowflakes through the window in the kitchen, marveling at the way they fell to the large lumps of snow beneath. Distant streaks of color raced across the white now and again as children such as herself played amongst it._

 _Yoku felt a twinge of envy as she imagined a few kids having a snowball fight. She hadn't made any friends, not really. For the most part she was usually content to be alone, but at times she found herself desiring companionship. Yoku turned away from the window with a huff and forced such thoughts out of her head. It was a day for fun, not moping._

 _After a hot breakfast and tugging on some warm clothes, she set out on her adventure. Meaning, wandering through some of the nearby forest in the training fields. The young girl's boots crunched into the snow as she moved and swung her kunai at an invisible opponent._

 _Yoku selected a random tree for a training dummy. While she cut and gouged the wood, the snow started to fall faster. The girl did not notice this at first, thoroughly enjoying the psuedo-battle._

 _"Ha!"_

 _She jumped backwards to throw some old shuriken at the unfortunate plant. Three soft thunks accompanied a startled yelp._

 _"Brrr..."_

 _Yoku shivered. She had tripped over and fallen into a mound of snow that had grown large in the recent minutes. Now Yoku noticed how numerous the snowflakes were becoming, how hard the frigid wind was blowing. Her clothes were starting to lose their warmth from the onslaught._

 _"B-better g-g-get home.."_

 _The girl put away her kunai and waded through the snow to get to the damaged tree. Two of the embedded shuriken came free with minimal effort, but the last one was more stubborn. Yoku tugged and tugged, pulling out the shuriken but dropping it as well. She sighed as she watched the rising snow consume the metal weapon._

 _'I hope nobody steps on that.'_

 _Realizing she was starting to feel numb, the girl turned away and started to trudge back towards the forest's end. After a few minutes of walking the numbness had enveloped Yoku's whole body. It started to change into a different sensation._

 _'I feel almost.. warm. I could just lie down... and...'_

 _Yoku blinked and shook her head to stave off the sudden lethargy. With a creeping dread, she began to understand why people could so easily die of cold. Luckily the forest's edge was in sight._

 _An hour after her ordeal Yoku was back home. The girl was sipping warm soup her mother had finished making shortly after her arrival, thankful to be rid of the leeching frost._

* * *

 _'This is like back then.. but I can't... I won't...'_

I forced myself to keep conscious. Just when I thought my lungs would explode the mud started to dissipate. I instinctively inhaled the fresh air, coughing as I tried to take in as much as possible. I could feel my body being pushed out of the ground as well.

Unfortunately I could also feel plenty of pain. I groaned as I attempted to push myself up to no avail. My hand slipped and my head thumped back onto the dusty dirt.

Through the resulting jolt of pain, I could hear someone's voice.

"The victor-Genma Shiranui!"

I coughed again, my throat burning and dry as sandpaper. It showed in my raspy breathing. Although I had come to a conclusion, I found myself too exhausted to taste the bitterness of defeat at that moment.

 _'Guess I.. lost..'_

My eyes slid shut.

* * *

Above the arena, two spectators reacted to the fight's outcome.

"She isn't..?"

"No, probably just unconscious-she should be fine."

* * *

In a small building beside the arena the Chunin Exam was being held in, a girl pushed herself off a stiff mattress. It was one of many, all lined up in neat rows along the spacious room. There were other exam participants occupying beds, mostly with minor injuries. When they felt rested enough the ninja would get off the bed and return to the arena. Empty spots were filled and emptied in a random fashion.

The girl's limbs protested against her movement, but this was a small inconvenience. Since she had no concerning issues her body was all but untouched. The girl did happily note that the mud caking her face had been wiped off. Although her clothes were in a sorry state. She exited the building with intent to meet up with her team.

* * *

Kakashi came out of the building, holding up a certificate and a chunin jacket. I commended him for passing; he'd done a pretty good job.

"Well done for passing the exam on your first try, Kakashi." I nodded respectfully-and a little begrudgingly "But I'm certain that me and-"

I paused when I heard a grumble behind me. I turned my head to see Obito walking away down the path, hands in his pockets.

I beckoned to him for a moment 'Wait-Obito, I didn't mean-" my words had no effect; I scolded myself "Ughh, stupid, stupid, stupid!"

Kakashi was looking at me awkwardly. As if on cue, someone else exited the building and came up to him.

"Hey, I heard you passed! Your battle was really cool, Kakashi."

Rin was set to talk with him. I decided now was an opportune time to sneak away and put a new idea of mine into effect.

"I'm gonna go find something, uh, bye Kakashi and Rin!" I gave the pair a quick wave and ran towards the nearby maze of shops

* * *

The soft sound of jingling bells announced my departure from the small bakery. I'd been hunting for some sort of food item to get inside. After scanning several colorful shelves, I decided to just go with classic chocolate chip cookies. I'm certain my odd dream had influenced my choice of baked confection on some level.

I began heading towards the path I'd come from, the small paper bag held by my hand crinkling as it swayed. I found the noise of bustle surrounding me that day to be almost lyrical; I sidestepped a hurrying deliveryman as if dancing to a rhythm.

My sandals clacked on the familiar dirt path. I scanned from left to right and noticed the sun was getting low in the sky. The day was beginning to dim, soft orange rays crawling alongside growing shadows.

I was starting to wonder if my friend had gone home. A quick observation of a bench off to my right revealed that wasn't the case. I chuckled slightly at what I saw-Obito was stretched out across the bench, seemingly asleep. It appeared I wasn't the only one who'd gotten the idea.

I walked over to one end of the bench and inspected my friend. Sure enough, his eyes were closed and he was snoring softly. I decided to wake him up, as the stone bench looked even less comfortable than the wooden one I'd slept on.

"Hey, sleepyhead! That's not a very good place to take a nap." I advised in a loud voice

Perhaps I shouldn't have been leaning right over him. Obito woke up with a start, sitting up quickly and banging his head on mine. I let out an exclamation of pain and rubbed my head, as did my friend.

When we'd recovered from the accidental impact Obito noticed my presence and scooted back on the bench.

"O-oh, it's just you, Yoku. I thought someone was attacking me for a second.." Obito laughed nervously for a moment

As if remembering something, his laughter faded and he turned to the ground with a frustrated look. I tilted my head with a frown, realizing he was probably still mad about what I'd said earlier. I decided it was time for the reconciliation cookies to make their debut.

"Hey, I've got somethin' for you. Catch!"

Obito lifted his head to see what I meant. I tossed him one of the cookies from my bag and he just managed to grab it, almost falling off the bench in the process. I chuckled warmly at his clumsiness, moving to sit down next to him. I was surprised to see a look of embarrassment in his features when I met his eyes again.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't laughing at you in a mean way, I just-um..." I too became embarrassed, deciding to just follow up with the reason for the sugary projectile

"I got the cookie for you because I want to say sorry for what I said back there. It was almost inevitable that Kakashi would pass.."

I noticed Obito was staring at the cookie in his hand morosely; he really was quite cut-up over his losses.

"..but, it doesn't mean _we_ can't. I know you, Obito. You're not one to give up easily, you just keep on going until you achieve your goal! It's... one of the things I really admire you for."

Realizing my subtle confession, the cookie in my hand suddenly seemed _very_ interesting. I decided to closely observe it to prevent my creeping blush from becoming any more apparent. It was a nice cookie, a rough round shape speckled with flavorful bits of chocolate. It's hue was golden-brown, indicating it had been cooked to perfect-

Alas, my pointless listing was halted "Really? I-I mean, thanks.."

I laughed again; there was a soft crunching sound, which I attributed to Obito taking a bite of my peace offering. I decided to do the same, still keeping eye contact with the tasty morsel even as I devoured it. I started to reflect on the Chunin Exam when it became too small to reasonably stare at.

"I'm a failure. I got too panicked at the end of my fight with Genma; If I'd stayed calm maybe I could have beat him." I sighed, popping the last cookie shard into my mouth

I continued my spiel, chewing "It's cause I had this weird dream where I suffocated at the end. When Genma got me stuck in that mud and I stayed under, I started thinking I was going to run out of air." I swallowed and continued, now more to myself than to my friend

"Even if it was only a few seconds of panic, it was terrifying. I just kept thinking that... I don't want to die. Not yet. There's still so much I need to do.."

I closed my eyes, replaying events not yet occurred in my mind over and over again. Once upon a time they may have just been fragments of a story, but that was not so now. To know such horrible things could happen tore at me, because the characters were my friends and the world was my home.

A chill crept up my spine as I thought of how so many lives were destroyed or irreparably broken by turmoil. A good example was right next to me; someone with the best intentions and purest heart driven to acts of remorseless manipulation and murder. It seemed cruel, to create such a person only to twist and mold their life for the sake of interest.

 _'But who's to say that's really fiction? That the person isn't really suffering? If this world exists as a reality, the possibilities could be endless..'_

Thankfully, I was broken out of my doleful thinking before it could get too depressing.

"You alright?" Obito asked, brows knit in concern

"Yeah, sorry. Just got lost in thought for a moment." I smiled a little, even as his gaze provoked darker thoughts

Redirecting the conversation in a more positive direction, I spoke of upcoming goals.

"A-anyway, we'll get another shot at the Chunin Exam in several months. If we keep on training, we should be able to pass."

There was a crackling sound as I crumpled up the empty paper bag in my hand. I mentally noted to keep an eye out for a bin.

"You're right... Next time, we'll ace the exam! We've just gotta get stronger." Obito's eyes gained a familiar shine to them as he spoke adamantly

With the cookie obliterated, I swerved my gaze back to the Uchiha. I didn't answer his declaration with words; rather, I conveyed my agreement through a simple look. It was something we did automatically now and then; once you got to know someone well, verbal speaking wasn't always a necessity.

Noticing there was a small metal bin to the right of the bench we were on, I stood up. With careful precision I chucked the squashed paper bag towards it. It landed with barely a sound at the bottom of the cylinder.

"Well, I guess that's a start."

 **There you have it folks, that's the end of the Chunin Exam. Perhaps the beginning of something too. The next few chapters will show the characters as they develop through the coming winter, along with another glimpse at the Hidden Mist's shady doings.**

 **Apologies if that bit with Kakashi chiding Yoku seemed off. I couldn't really think of something to properly tell her off for. Swearing is out, since a lot of the genin swore and that would be quite hypocritical. I kinda settled on volume because he was standing right next to her when she yelled so it would be rather loud, but yelling is also a form of encouragement so...eh? Sorry if that sounds lame, I kept it just because it disrupted the flow too much to remove it.**

 **Some of you may also be wondering: Why did Yoku choose not to use her chakra containers? I'll answer this question. While she does use them on missions sometimes, she isn't really confident enough with herself to use them in a proper event around others. She also harbors fear of somebody asking about them and discovering the exact process involved. Sorry if that sounds crappy, I'm not always great with explanations.**

 **On that note, it may be a while until the next chapter's uploaded. I'm planning to write the next three chapters one after the other, then start posting them when they're all complete. I also just need a bit of a break, as I'm getting busy with things besides this story. I'll not abandon you guys though, don't worry. A big thanks to anybody who so far has left a fav, follow or review, and I'll see you all again when the next arc is done!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Greetings, fellows. Here's chapter 12 for you. I know it took a while, the end of the year is a busy time for me. With the addition of an earthquake and other problems popping up it's been hard to find time for this. I should be able to get writing done faster after Christmas, but I will keep going before then when possible. I do have some future chapters mostly written, but they won't come for a while. Expect forecasts of development in this and the next two chapters, with a hint of snow. There's a little something from japanese culture in this chapter that I wanted to introduce-I thought it appropriate for the scenario and figured it would help the characters bond. Thanks to everyone who left a review, fav and follow, I appreciate it and I'm sorry for taking so long this time around.**

 **Sukki18: I feel touched you liked my story this much. I have read Chipped Mask, and I agree with you that it is an excellent story. The story will have some dark spots, but I don't want to make it too dark. There'll be fluff along the way too. It is sometimes difficult to keep things in order, but I grab onto the brief parts that are available and try to incorporate them. The chapter to do with the Hidden Lock Village stemmed from a small clip, for example.**

 **Eliza: Yeah, this story is a learning experience for me on writing a character. I'm also trying out first-person rather than third-person, so I understand if it's not great. The thoughts of other help me to grow. Thanks for stopping by regardless.**

It'd been a few months since the Chunin Exam. Winter had crept up on us, it seemed. Temperatures dropped with the arrival of familiar falling fragments of ice. Sales of winter clothing rose as well. It was customary for most people in the village to don a scarf at least-some shinobi would also wear them. The trailing fabric could be hazardous if it caught something, but for some warmth took priority over safety. The smarter ones would tie the scarves securely so they didn't flap about.

The civilians and children usually wore more layers, me included. I swapped out my usual black jacket for a warmer grey one and protected my hands with matching gloves. Numb or slow hands as a result of cold could be bothersome when training to throw shuriken or practice jutsu. Some days when it was particularly cold, I would wear a blue scarf.

Speaking of training, I had been doing it consistently since the exam. I still somewhat resented myself for the moment of weakness I'd had in my battle with Genma. This motivated me to try and improve my skills so that I wouldn't face another similar slip-up in the future. My main areas of focus were agility, stamina and chakra control. The first two were because I didn't want to lose focus at a critical moment. The latter was more for refinement of the Chakra Leech Jutsu. I found that as time went on and my chakra control slowly got better, I could more easily absorb precise amounts of chakra from my containers.

So, when winter had come, I dedicated myself to training more than ever. One of the bonuses of doing so in winter was that there tended to be more space in the training fields. A lot of people preferred to practice somewhere warmer when it snowed. I was an exception to this rule; I liked the cold and the solace it brought when I needed it. That wasn't to say that I just stood out in the ice all day shivering. Although there was one winter day I found particularly memorable.

"Aunty Kushina, I don't need another layer. Honest."

I was swiftly gulping down some hot chocolate and protesting at the cumbersome brown thing my aunt was waving in front of me.

"You'll get sick if you don't wrap up well. The wind's quite blustery today." replied Kushina, glancing outside through a nearby frosted window

She was right about the weather. Even from inside the house it was easy to hear the low whistle of rushing air. Still, I was determined to go outside and do some practice.

"Aren't ninja meant to get used to bad weather conditions though? It's not like they just stand around waiting for the sun to.."

I trailed off when I caught my aunt's eyes. Their gaze was sharp, unflinching. The message was clear enough to me: _Wear. The. **C** **oat.**_

"..buut then again, warm clothes were developed so our vigilant protectors don't have to get used to the weather."

I smiled in what I hoped was a charming manner and took the heavy fabric. I turned around to put it on, pulling down the hood to hide my frown. The leather was quite thick, a bit old and worn but still usable. I chugged the last of my warm beverage and set the cup down on the table.

Clothing reluctantly on, I gave a quick wave to my aunt and opened the door to the frigid outside world. Snowflakes drifted in front of my face, occasionally blown around by the freezing wind. I was beginning to feel a little grateful for the coat and it's powers of insulation.

Although as I crunched through the snowy pathways it became an annoyance once again. Whenever I turned into the wind the tail of the coat would flap around loudly. On top of that the lashing leather kept whipping at the back of my legs.

By the time I made it to the training fields I was thoroughly ticked off. After entering the gate and picking a sizable area to begin in I promptly ditched the bothersome thing.

I took it off and wrapped the sleeves tightly around a low branch on one of the nearby trees. After tying them in what I thought was a secure knot, I went back towards the training area.

* * *

After an hour or so of practicing my chakra control, I was finding it hard to concentrate. While my movements were much more fluid without the heavy cloak I was starting to shiver quite badly. Although my hands were protected by gloves and my neck by a scarf, the cold was not completely negated. Before I could start getting slower I switched to more physical training.

While trying out taijutsu on one of the various log dummies, I was surprised to hear the telltale sound of boots in the snow. The training fields tended to be emptier on cold days. By the time I got curious enough to turn my head all I managed to catch was the end of a green scarf disappearing into the forest. I paused for a moment, then shrugged and turned back to the logs.

After throwing a few shuriken I noticed something in my peripheral vision. I followed my eyes to the branch I'd tied the pesky coat to. It was being flung around madly by the wind as if it wanted to escape. Unfortunately that's precisely what happened. The knot I'd tied was not as tight as I'd thought it to be.

I ran towards the tree frantically, but I was not quick enough. The fabric came free of the branch and was blown backwards through the trees.

 _'No, I can't lose that. Kushina will kill me!'_

I followed the crazed clothing past tree after tree. After finally getting close enough to the demented thing, I made a leap to grab it.

I felt triumphant as my hands closed around one sleeve "Hah! Ye-"

My moment of glory was short-lived. I'd come out into a sort of clearing, but my scarf had somewhat unraveled in the chase. It caught itself on one of the trees fringing the area.

Luckily I didn't choke. The scarf rolled off my neck and I landed with an unceremonious "Ooof!" in the snow beneath.

I pushed myself out of the ground, wiping the melting ice from my face afterwards. After sitting up and blinking my eyes to refocus my vision, I jumped upon noticing someone in front of me. Then sighed in relief when I realized who it was.

"Geez, Obito! You nearly gave me a heart attack..."

"Oh, sorry. I was just training, then I heard you fall over."

My friend smiled sheepishly and offered me a hand. I returned the smile and took it, all-too-familiar blush adorning my cheeks as he pulled me up. I took a moment to take in his attire. He seemed to be wearing one of his regular outfits, with the addition of a green scarf. It was the very same one I'd glimpsed earlier.

I decided to explain myself with some embarrassment "Well.. I fell over because I was chasing this," I shook some stray snow off the troublesome coat "and my scarf snagged on a branch. See, it's up there."

I pointed to the blue fabric flapping about in the breeze. Disturbing images swirled around in my brain as I imagined it attached to a body. I was still grateful it hadn't strangled me to death from the high branch.

Obito's eyes followed my hand. He gazed at the scarf for a few moments before speaking "I could get it for you."

I smiled at the polite gesture, an idea popping into my head "Hmmm.. how about a race instead? We might as well get some exercise out of it."

My friend grinned "All right, you're on!"

* * *

I tied the coat around one of the slimmer trees, this time making sure it wouldn't fly away again. After a quick starting count, we shot off up the tree. I started to gain a lead on Obito as seconds ticked by, likely because my chakra control was more refined. His movements along the trunk seemed a bit clumsy.

In practically no time I hopped onto the branch holding my scarf captive. Soon after my friend dropped beside me, signaling I had won the race.

"You're fast, Yoku." Obito commented, readjusting his goggles

"Thanks. Although, I bet if I hadn't been practicing my chakra control you could have beaten me." I replied, stretching across the branch

I grabbed my scarf in both hands, tugging and maneuvering it carefully. It quickly came free-with a loud tearing sound.

I stared blankly at the end of the fabric, now split in two "Oh... oops."

After a moment I shrugged and looped the shortened scarf around my neck a few times. Satisfied that it was secure, I sat down on the wood with a sigh.

"What a day..." the branch moved as Obito sat down next to me

I flicked a glance at him and noticed with some alarm how pale he was. His nose and cheeks were red, perhaps signaling he had a cold.

"Obito, you don't look so good.." I said, face creased in concern

He waved it off "I'm just a little cold. This weather is nothing!"

I became more aware of my own body temperature. I was starting to feel more than "just a little cold." myself.

"If we're not careful, _both_ of us will get sick." I quipped, absently tightening my scarf

"I don't think that-" Obito was about to say something, but stopped

He started to sniff and brought a hand to his face to stifle a sneeze. But before I could say "I told you so.", my friend's other hand slipped.

"Whooa-!"

Thinking quickly, I managed to grab Obito's waist before he completely fell off the tree. Unfortunately this didn't save us. Immediately aware of our close proximity, my face went red as a cherry. My body followed suit and lost it's sense of coordination.

The pair of us plummeted towards the ground shortly after.

* * *

I groaned after the impact of landing. I shook my head and blinked to clear the brief dizziness, noting I seemed to be laying on top of something. Or, some _one._

I was spread over Obito's torso, and as I scrambled to get up I noticed he was face-down in the snow. I hurriedly grabbed one of his arms and yanked him upwards. A few gasps of air later, he was sitting up.

Both of us were shivering now. My friend sneezed again. I was surprised to find myself doing the same. We shared a laugh for a few moments, seeing the humor in what'd just happened.

"I'm sorry Obito, that was a stupid idea." I sighed and stood up

I heard him reply as I untied the coat and pulled it on "Nah, I thought it was pretty fun.."

I tromped back over to stand beside my friend. Both of us looked up at the tree we had fallen from. There was still a bit of my blue scarf snagged on it.

I heard chattering and turned my head. Obito was rubbing his hands together and shivering worse than I. Although the coat was heavy it was quite well insulated, so I wasn't suffering as badly from the winter wind.

"Are you cold, Obito?" I asked, causing him to turn to me

"W-well, um n-not... y-yeah, a l-little." he admitted with a nod, sneezing again

 _'This is a big coat.. perhaps it could fit both of us.'_

Deciding to be bold, I voiced my idea.

"You know, I think I could give you half my coat. It's big, but warm."

My friend seemed to tense up, his stuttering becoming worse "Th-th-that's ok-kay. I th-think I c-c-can.."

"Dude, come on. I'm not just gonna stand here and let you freeze to death." I deadpanned

I huddled closer to Obito and draped the right side of the coat over him. We were standing waist-to-waist, because although the coat was sizeable it wasn't huge. My nerves skyrocketed, so I just focused on the tree to hopefully avoid a confrontation. My friend's shivering died down as the thick clothing quickly worked its magic.

"Th-thanks."

"Y-yeah well, y'know, glad to help."

An awkward silence lingered for a couple moments. I stopped stewing in emotions after noticing the snow seemed to have gained ferocity.

"Well, um, we should probably head home, y'know. The snow is turning into a blizzard.." I held an arm up to protect my eyes from being assailed

"Oh, yeah," Obito sneezed once more, then took off his half of the coat

I pulled the sleeve back on with a grin "Cmon, let's head back to the training fields."

* * *

"I guess I'll see you later then. St-stay warm!" my friend waved with a smile as he walked off

I returned the wave and smile "You too. We both should ease up on training for a bit, at least until these colds go away."

I turned towards home, feeling pleasant despite the occasional sneeze or cough. While scanning the shops as I maneuvered through a market district, the timely arrival of yet another sneeze combined with festive decoration inspired me.

* * *

"Hey, sir? What's this.. Daruma doll?"

I was standing in a small gift shop, having made my way in to do some browsing. The shelves boasted many colorful items illuminated by lanterns, one of which I was inquiring about. If my memory proved correct, it would be what I was seeking.

The item I was pointing to was a small and rotund object composed of painted paper mache. The "Body" was bright red and yellow, with a black-and-white face. A small bottle of black paint and a brush sat adjacent it. A thin strip of paper was stuck to the shelf under the doll. It read: "Achieve your goals with the help of Daruma."

The elderly shopkeep answered my question with a friendly smile "Ah, the Daruma doll. It's been part of our history for a very long time. It's a symbol of good luck, something to help you reach your goals," the man paused, pointing at the bottle of ink resting beside the doll "The brush is used to paint eyes on the Daruma with ink. This is how you set your goal and finish it. Painting in one eye is a promise to commit to what you want to do. You paint the second eye when you achieve the goal you set."

The man paused again, giving the doll a poke. To my surprise it did not fall over. Rather, it rocked backwards for a moment before righting itself.

"As you can see, the Daruma keeps itself upright. It symbolizes the ability to endure hardships. Some people believe Daruma can help with overcoming illnesses too."

I regarded the doll with new interest "Wow... thanks, that was quite informative."

"No problem. It's part of my job to pass on the knowledge of the past to the younger generation." the shopkeeper's eyes moved to rest fondly upon a boy tending to the counter, presumably his son

"Well, I know my answer. I'll take it!" I grinned, picking up the doll and it's equipment

I merrily made my way towards the counter, already having picked out a purpose for my purchase.

* * *

I grunted, shoving my weight against the wooden door. It wasn't the first time it had gotten stuck-nor would it be the last. I pushed once more, holding tight to the wrapped package in my arms. I gasped in surprise when the door gave way suddenly, almost causing myself and my quarry to tumble onto the floor. I saved myself by shooting an arm out to grab the doorknob, sighing in relief when I felt balanced. I shut the door and stepped inside safely. Or so I thought.

Ironically however, I hadn't been very lucky that day. I had failed to notice the end of my long coat had become trapped beneath the door after I closed it. So when I took a few steps to put down the delicate item, any amount of elegance I had regained fell apart.

Unprepared for the sharp tug pulling me downwards, I did what almost anyone would do-I tripped.

I felt the Daruma fly out of my grasp as I landed with a painful _thump_ on the wooden floor. I slowly looked up after my literal fall from grace, expecting to see a half-crushed bundle. What I _did_ see was nothing of the sort-instead, my aunt stood stretched above me with the thankfully _un_ crushed Daruma caught in one hand.

I let out another relieved sigh, moving into a sitting position "Thanks.. that was close."

"Yep. Even we shinobi have our clumsy moments," my aunt's eyes moved to focus on what was currently lodged under the door, "hmm. Maybe I _should_ get rid of that thing.." Kushina held her free hand to her chin in thought

Now struggling to pull myself free, I was certainly not opposed to the idea after what I had been put through

"Yes! Please! This stupid," I tugged at it to emphasize the following words "thing, needs. To. _Go!_ "

The coat chose that moment to come free at last. Like some last mocking gesture, it sent me tumbling onto my side. I shot a meaningful look towards Kushina from the floor.

"..I think I see your point."

* * *

Some hours later, I sat reading an old book in Kushina's spare bedroom. I had temporarily moved in, since the time of year was about family and people coming together. It was a refreshing change in some ways. A house seemed to hold more life-figuratively-when it was fuller. Even after arguments and spats, at the end of the day it was nice to have companionship.

I turned another page. I was attempting to immerse myself in the text to stop my mind from wandering back towards the gloomy state of my own home. It had started off as a cheerful tale of a small family living in a village. But that didn't last long-I was up to the second chapter and the mother of this family had met her doom. One of the two children had vanished too. I flipped the book around and peeked at the title again. "Brothers".

"Hmm. Well, so much for that."

Failing to escape into the story, I folded the page I was on as a bookmark and tossed the book behind me. It went slightly too far, slipping off the end of the mattress and plunging into the tiny, forsaken gap between the wall and the bed.

I sighed and rubbed my eyes tiredly. I decided to shelve the issue for the night, pulling up the blanket of my bed and wrapping myself in it's welcome warmth. The candle I had been using to read was still burning; I turned over and blew it out.

My eyes stared through the shadows for a moment. Mind wandering, I reflected that I wouldn't like being trapped in darkness. I made a mental note to retrieve the book when I woke up the next day. I snuggled further into the bed, absently listening to the hum of voices somewhere outside my room. My gaze came to rest on the wrapped Daruma sitting on the bedside table.

 _'Maybe I'll stay here for a little longer.'_

* * *

I woke the next morning to the howling of a blizzard. Hail pattered against my window and added to the noise. I covered my ears with a pillow and rolled onto my side, still sleepy. The fabric failed to block the assault on my eardrums, so I dropped it and moved myself up off the bed. An examination revealed my bedsheet had become twisted around in the night once again. After tidying up and taking another glance at the raging weather outside, I decided to stay in for a bit and do some reading.

My original idea was one of the ninja art manuals Kushina owned, but the first thing to come into my head was the little storybook I'd left the previous night. I kept true to my promise and bent under the bed to retrieve it.

After about a minute of stretching my arm uncomfortably, I pulled out a dusty but otherwise undamaged wad of paper from it's prison. I brushed it clean and flicked to the page I'd marked. Stretching my stiff limbs, I sat with folded legs and decided I'd finish the next chapter before moving onto some manuals. Though depressing at first, I wanted to see how the tale would end.

 _'I hope life gets better for this family...'_

 **So, that's the end of the chapter. Some fluff and friendship for you guys. Apologies if there isn'** **t much happening, this is a sort of "Breather" before the next proper arc, which will probably start going in chapter 14. The next chapter covers the end of winter and the Rinne Festival. Also, here's a hint for something that'll happen soon: Yoku's name will have some irony to it come spring. Make of that what you will.**

 **Thanks again to all you amazing readers, I'll see you in the next chapter!**


	13. Author's Note

**A/N**

 **Hi guys. I'm sorry to say this isn't chapter 13, just a bit of an update. It may be a while before this story is updated, for three reasons: One, because I found myself really stuck with chapter 13 and I've decided to redo it as well as a bit of chapter 12. Two, I'm going to be busy with things outside the website so I won't have as much time on my hands. Three, I'm writing an entirely different story for this site as well as this one. I will not start uploading it until I have written up all the chapters. All I'm gonna say is it's in the category of the Fallout video game series.**

 **I didn't want to get your hopes up but I figured it would be better to tell you guys how things are going rather than leaving you in the dark. Rest assured this story will continue as planned after I've reworked a few things and done some editing. I have a few future chapters written up, which are some of the more interesting ones. Half the reason I got stuck with the next chapter is I found it incredibly boring to write. One final thing; I'm on the lookout for a betareader for this story. Just PM me about it if you'd like to do it.**

 **That's all for now, apologies for being so slow with this at the moment. Thanks to all of you for sticking with me despite the delays.**

 **-RH**


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